


Wild Card

by TrashYatt



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: F/M, handful of characters, lonashipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-09-02 19:47:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 64
Words: 154,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16793587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashYatt/pseuds/TrashYatt
Summary: A Wild Card seems to be a Fae or a Fable being born with an extremely rare ability, which would make it possible for them to turn human. A Fable being human born would be most likely to have it, but they wouldn’t know about it until their lifespan ended. The most common way for a Fae and Fable to pass is by crystallizing, apparently starting with their spine, then their tail, if they have one. The process of their spine getting crystalized would be quite painful, going in intervals of when it would happen and could happen at random. When their spine is fully crystallized, it might take some time before their tail starts, which is less to not painful at all. That process can take a while as well, depending on how much the Fae or Fable use their magic while it’s happening. When their tail is crystalized, the Fae or Fable will go into a great pain again, and within a few seconds, their entire being being crystalized, ending up shattering and turning into dust.





	1. Girl in the Reflection

Gladion was sitting at the dining table, yawning and playing with his breakfast. Lillie, Lusamine and Mohn was sitting there beside him, watching him not eat much. It was quite early, as they were going to Kalos for a family vacation. Gladion didn't want to, but had no say in it, being young. Lillie was excited and couldn't sit still in her chair. Mohn just smiled softly and chuckled lightly at the young girl. Lusamine tried to make Gladion eat something, since it would be a long flight to Kalos, and there wouldn't be much food for a while either.

Gladion nodded and slowly started to eat, to which Lillie took more onto her plate. Mohn laughed at the good appetite the young girl had, to which Lusamine had to stop her, since Lillie easily would get sick if she ate to much, and they sure didn't want her to throw up on the flight over, as she easily got nauseous while flying. 

«We better get done eating and get ready for the flight.» Mohn added, taking the napkin and wiping his face with it. 

Lusamine nodded. «Yeah, we should get ready to leave. Gladion, Lillie. If you are done eating, i would suggest you go to your rooms and see if you have missed something. We can't turn the plane around if you missed packing something with you.»

Gladion finished his plate and nodded, as well as Lillie nodded. They thanked for the food and left the table, heading toward their rooms for a quick look. Lillie hurried up the stairs and into her room, finding her favourite plush right away, a white fox, with several tails. Gladion looked around, and eventually found his favourite plush. A white dog, with a couple of green and brown markings. He didn't really want to bring it with him, thinking he is a big boy now, and that he didn't need it. Mohn had walked over to his room, and watched him hold the plush of his before gently placing it on his bed, pulling the covers over it.

«I'll be back.» he said to it.

Gladion patted the bed and looked around his room quickly before walking out, seeing his father standing there. Mohn asked him if he was ready, to which Gladion nodded at. Mohn then nodded softly and said that he should get going, and that dad was just going to check the windows if they were all locked. Gladion nodded and walked past him, his expression unusually serious. Mohn just looked at the little boy and couldn't help but to chuckle softly as he walked into his room, knowing fully well that he will miss his favourite plush. Mohn checked the windows and grabbed the plush. 

«I know he will miss you, so you are tagging along, buddy.» he said softly to himself.

Lusamine had placed Lillie in the seat, and strapped her up, and was working on strapping up Gladion. Mohn just walked out of the front door and locked it, with a bag hanging from his shoulders. Before he boarded the plane, he took a deep breath and shook himself up a little, shaking the goosebumps off. He didn't mind flying, but it surely wasn't on his 'to do' list most of times. He liked to stay grounded. Lusamine kept telling him that he was just slightly afraid of heights, to which he just shaked his head at, refusing the fact that he was. If Lillie and Gladion heard that, they would just exchange looks and shake their heads in disapproval.

Mohn walked into the plane, and found the three others already in their seats. He nodded and knocked on the door to the cockpit, indicating that they were ready to go. Mohn quickly found his seat and buckled up as he put his bag down in front of him. Lusamine smiled softly, and looked over at Gladion and Lillie, who was looking outside of the windows. Lillie holding her plush tightly. Gladion saw it and started to regret leaving his plush behind, not knowing that Mohn had taken it with him.

The one of the pilots came out of the cockpit and closed the door to the plane before giving the family a wave as he went back into the cockpit, closing the door and locking it. The engines shortly started up, and after a few minutes, they were up in the air, and started to move forward. Lillie couldn't sit still in her seat, jumping in excitement of being in a different region for a few weeks. Gladion's expression sourned, and Mohn knew exactly why and started to dig through the bag he had with him onboard.

«Oh! Look who decided to join us?» he exclaimed and pulled out the plush.

Gladion looked at his plush as Mohn reached over for him to grab it. Gladion took it and held it tightly, as a shade of red appeared on his cheeks. Lusamine smiled softly, and Lillie giggled, to which the blush on Gladion's face deepend to a darker shade.

«Thanks dad...» he muttered softly.

Mohn smiled warmly at him, and nodded. «Of course Silvally couldn't stay at home alone. He could have wrecked the house.» he added, giving Lusamine a wink.

Lusamine chuckled softly and nodded. Lillie giggled and Gladion just smiled, giggling softly at what his father had said. Feeling happier now, he shifted his gaze out of the window again, with a soft smile on his face. The plane got up in the air, and started off moving, with a little turbulence, which made Mohn freeze in his seat. Lusamine just leaned forward and placed her hand on his knee.

«Don't worry, honey. We'll be fine.» she said softly. Mohn just nodded and gave her a sheepish smile. Gladion and Lillie just chuckled softly.

**\----------**

As the plane landed at Kalos Airport, Mohn exhaled in relief. The engines got shut off, and the sound of them running slowly faded away. As it did, the pilots opened the door and walked out, giving both Mohn and Lusamine a nod before one opened the door out. The polits stepped out, and Mohn hurried to unbuckle his belt to get out of there. Lusamine remained calm as she gently woke up Lillie and Gladion, as they fell asleep a few hours earlier.

«Wake up, we are in Kalos now.» she said softly to them.

Gladion yawned and sat up a little more, rubbing his eyes. Lillie pouted a little as she woke up, hugging her plush tightly. It was nighttime in Kalos, so they were going straight to summer house they had bought a few years back, and to put both Lillie and Gladion straight to bed, since it was very late for two young children. Gladion got out of his seat and slowly walked over to the opening, and down the few stairs to the ground, while holding his plush tightly under his arm. Lusamine came behind him, holding Lillie as they walked out.

Mohn had clearly calmed down, and were talking to the pilots as he saw Gladion and Lusamine, with Lillie in her arms, looking defeated. Mohn laughed softly at the two tired faces, which made bout of them pout in response. Mohn had called for a taxi to arrive, so as they waited, they got their luggage out from under the plane, while still chatting with the pilots, trying not to be to loud around Lillie and Gladion. They didn't want them to get completely awake, since they would be put to bed right away when they arrived at the summer house.

The taxi arrived shortly, and Lusamine got into the car, sitting in the middle of the back while Lillie and Gladion was leaning against her on each side, looking very tired. Mohn helped with putting the luggage into the trunk of the car before getting himself into the passenger seat beside the driver. He told the taxi driver the address and off they went. 

The drive was one hour long, and both Lillie and Gladion managed to fall asleep again on the ride over. So when they arrived, they decided to take out the luggage first, placing it inside of the door as Mohn unlocked it. They then went to pick up the kids, not waking them up. Mohn told the driver to just way a little, so he would get his money for the trip over, which the taxi driver nodded at, leaning against the car.

Mohn took Gladion while Lusamine took Lillie, and walked into the house and upstairs, putting them in each of their rooms there. Gladion woke up as Mohn put him on the edge of the bed, taking his clothes off, getting him ready for the night.

«Bed time now, son. In bed with you.» he said softly with a smile.

Gladion nodded and sighed deeply before turning and crawled up, hitting his head heavily on the pillow. Mohn placed the plush beside him and pulled the covers over him, tucking him in before giving him a soft pat on the head. Mohn then gave a slight nod and walked out, closing the door behind him to the room. Gladion quickly fell asleep again, same with Lillie as Lusamine and Mohn met in the hallway, going downstairs again.

Mohn met with the driver and paid him for his service. The driver nodded and said goodnight before getting into the driver's seat and drove off. Lusamine had already got most of the luggage inside of the house as Mohn walked up to her, telling her that he would take the rest inside. Lusamine nodded and gave him a soft peck on the cheek before walking in and upstairs, headed towards their bedroom. Mohn smiled softly and put the last bags inside, locking the door and found the bag with the essentials in it for tomorrow, upstairs with him.

The day and night had been long, so it will feel good to finally get a good rest in a bed, other than a seat on the plane. He walked in on finding Lusamine already in bed, but looking over something on her phone. When he walked in, she looked up and smiled at him before closing the phone, putting it on the nightstand beside her. Mohn shortly joined her in bed after putting the bag down at the foot of the bed. Lusamine snuggled close, as Mohn wrapped his arm around her gently, both quickly falling asleep after they got more comfortable.

After a while, Gladion woke up again. He blinked a couple of times, adjusting his eyes to the darkness around him. He abruptly sat up and rubbed his eyes as he heard a noise, coming from somewhere in the room. At least it sounded it came from inside his bedroom. Trying his best to be silent, he tried to locate where the noise is coming from. He looked over at the windows, were the curtains were pulled over. He heard the noise, but couldn't see anything moving behind the curtains.

He got out of the bed, and cautiously walked over on his toes. He held his plush tightly as he took a grip of the curtains, ready to reveal whoever or whatever that was making the noise. He swallowed thickly and hesitated, deciding to count to 3.

«1...2...3!» he counted in a hushed voice.

What met his eyes were more than he expected. In the reflection in the window, right beside him, stood a girl. He looked to his side, not seeing anyone as he looked into the window again. The girl were wearing a small dress like outfit, like the fox like creatures in the Kantonese cartoons he and Lillie usually watched in TV back in Alola. The more he looked at her, the more he saw what she was like. Just like the cartoon creatures.

She had short hair, and it looked like it was black. Fox ears and a lot of tails behind her, exactly like the cartoon creatures. Gladion narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look at the strange girl in the reflection. It was then she smiled softly, revealing her fangs. He didn't get scared, as it felt like she didn't mean any harm. Starting to think that he is dreaming or that his mind is playing tricks on him, he waved at the girl.

The girl waved back and her tails were swaying from side to side, which he had learned from TV, that some animals, like dogs, did that when they were happy. Their interaction were cut short when she suddenly looked to her left, and her expression turned into a small frown. Gladion followed her eyes, and looked over, to see nothing. The strange girl looked back at him and smiled softly before giving him another wave and turned her back at him, running off into the distance. 

Gladion didn't know how to react.  _ Was he dreaming? Is his mind playing tricks on him? Is it because it's dark? Is he still tired, despite not feeling tired? _ The questions ran around in his mind as he stood there, staring out of the window, only to see the landscape outside. He hesitated a little before heading back to the bed, crawling up and under the covers, holding his plush tightly. His thoughts kept him awake for a few more minutes, but as the minutes passed, he gradually became more and more tired, and eventually fell asleep again.


	2. Fable

Gladion slept in the next morning, but got woken up by Lillie going into his room and crawling up into his bed, sitting down looking at him sleeping. Lillie then leaned forward and started to poke his cheek, to which he started to grimace and opening his eyes. He looked up and saw Lillie smiling. Gladion frowned and pouted a little as he sat up in the bed, yawning. Lillie giggled softly and quickly crawled down and hurried out of the room, giving him a wave as she ran out into the corridor. Gladion sighed and yawned again, looking around the room. 

He sat there, and looked over at the window, and came to remember the strange looking girl he saw. He got out of the bed, and walked over reaching for the window, touching it. He tilted his head and didn't understand how he could see someone in the reflection of the window. It wasn't a mirror for sure. As he stood there, with his hand on the window, Mohn came walking in.

«Oh, you are finally awake? Good. Can't have you sleeping all day.» Mohn said cheerfully.

As he said that, Gladion flinched and retrieved his hand quickly from the window and quickly turned around, looking up at his father, looking into the room. Mohn laughed as he saw him flinch and walked up to him, squatting down to his level. 

«Sorry for scaring you, son.» he said softly, giving him a pat on his head. Mohn then looked past him, and outside. «Did want to go outside? Since you were looking out of the window?»

Gladion shaked his head, not sure if he should tell what he saw last night. Mohn hummed softly in response and raised an eyebrow at the young boy, smiling softly. «You sure?» 

Gladion turned his head, looking at the window again. «I saw a girl in the window last night.»

«A girl?» Mohn replied confused. «Outside in the garden?» he then asked him.

Gladion shaked his head. «No, not outside!  _ IN _ the window.» he said, looking back at his father. «Like she was standing beside me...and she was weird looking.»

Mohn frowned a little, not sure what to make out of what he said.«Weird looking?»

Gladion nodded. «Yeah! She had these long fox ears and...» he started, looking down at his hands, counting the many tails she had. «...This many tails!»

«Fox ears and 9 fox tails?» Mohn replied in a surprised manner. He then chuckled softly, which made Gladion pout and cross his arms.

«DAD! It's true!» he scolded him, puffing his cheeks.

«Of course it is, Gladion.» he said, patting the boy on his head again. «Anyway...Get dressed and hurry down to the kitchen before mom puts the breakfast away.»

Gladion nodded and found the clothes he had on yesterday, putting them on quickly while Mohn was watching him do it in a hurry. As quickly he found the clothes and put them on, he hurried out of the bedroom. Mohn chuckling softly as he could hear him hurry down the stairs, calling for Lusamine to not put the food away, to which Lusamine said she wouldn't do if he could take a seat at the table. Mohn then turned his attention to the window, looking rather serious.

«The borders might be growing thin again...» he muttered silently to himself.

«Mohn?» Lusamine called for him downstairs.

It made him flinch and turned around in a hurry. «Yes?» he replied loudly.

«The food won't eat itself!» she said lightly.

Mohn could hear that she was joking and chuckled as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him before he proceeded to walk down to them. Lillie was sitting at the table, eating again alongside Gladion, who wolfed down his breakfast. Lusamine scolded him for eating to fast, to which he replied with a sorry. Mohn took a seat beside Gladion and leaned over to him.

«Mom's food is really good...» he whispered to him. Gladion smiled and nodded.

Lusamine just rolled her eyes and smiled softly as she gave him a plate with food on it, along with a cup of coffeè. Mohn muttered a thank you to her as she sat down, taking a sip of her coffeè. Lillie and Gladion finished their food and thanked for it before asking if they could go outside in the garden. Lusamine nodded and with that, Lillie and Gladion hurried off to the living room, opening the front glass door, and headed out to the garden. Giggles and laughter could be heard as they started to play tag with each other.

Mohn then started with what Gladion had told him. «Gladion seems to have seen a Kyuubi last night.»

Lusamine almost dropped the cup she was holding and looked over at Mohn with a concerning expression. «What? How can you be sure of that?» she asked, her voice clearly sounding concerned.

«It might have been a dream, darling. But it worries me if the border to the Fyurian realm is growing thin again.» he said calmly. «I don't think there is anything to worry about either.» he added, looking over at his wife with a smile.

Lusamine sighed. «Are you going back then, if that's the case?» 

«No.» he quickly replied. «My life is here, with you and the kids. I have no desire to go back.» he added, taking her hand in his, stroking the top of her hand with his thumb. «It was bound to happen at some point with either of them.»

«To see a fable? I doubt that, but it still concerns me.» she replied with a stern tone. «What did he tell you about this Kyuubi?»

«Nothing much, other than it had ears of a fox and 9 tails. Oh! And that is was a girl.» he said, tilting his head forward a little, looking at Lusamine.

Lusamine just narrowed her eyes at him and sent him a glare. «Don't play tricks with me, honey.»

Mohn sat back in the chair, and put his hand over his heart. «Oh! You wound me, darling.»

«Pfft, you wish.» she added in a snarky tone, taking a sip of the coffeè, that was now lukewarm.

«I know you like my humor, darling.» he said, pursing his lips in a playful matter. 

Lusamine just slowly turned her head towards him, looking really unimpressed at what he said. She then smiled sweetly. «If you keep mentioning that  _ humor _ of yours, i'll personally do something that will make you regret it.»

Taken aback, Mohn just looked at her. «You wouldn't dare..» he said, clearly in a sarcastic tone.

«Try me.» she replied quickly and got up from the chair and walked over to the kitchen sink, pouring out the lukewarm coffeè.

Mohn got up from his chair and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind, resting his chin at her shoulder, humming softly as he swayed gently from side to side. Lusamine just sighed softly and didn't know what to do about him. The two young kids were breathing heavily after running around in the garden after running inside again and saw their parents close like that, it was just weird for them. They both grimaced as Mohn planted a kiss on Lusamine's cheek and then smiled at the two. 

«Gross...» Gladion muttered. Lillie nodded, but giggled softly.

«Pfft, gross you say?» Mohn started and let go of Lusamine. «Come here you two!» he added and started to approach them, slowly.

Both Lillie and Gladion screamed as they turned around and ran outside again, laughter clarely in their voices as they ran out as fast as they could, while Mohn started to chase them around, playing with them. Lusamine chuckled softly and started to clean the table, putting the plates and the cutlery in the dishwasher, as well as the cups and glasses that were used. She could hear Lillie scream as Mohn grabbed her and lifted her up, giving her a smooch on her cheek.

«Ew!!» she said and used her hands and arm to wipe it off. Mohn just laughed loudly, same did Gladion.

Mohn then looked at Gladion, then back at Lillie, giving her a mischievous smile as he nodded towards Gladion. Lillie seems to understand what he meant and nodded while smiling widely, giggling. Mohn then put Lillie down, and counted to 3. As he ended at 3, the two started to run towards Gladion, who turned around in a hurry, sprinting off, screaming. Lusamine finished cleaning up the kitchen and walked out, standing in the door watching them chase Gladion, but eventually managed to catch him. Mohn proceeded to lift him up and give him a big smooch on his cheek before putting him down again, only for Lillie to do the same on his other cheek.

«EEWW! GROSS!» he shouted and wiped his cheeks with his hands, pouting at them both.

Lusamine chuckled softly at the sight. Mohn laughed and Lillie giggled and poked his cheek while grinning widely. Gladion frowned and pouted, but the frown quickly turned into a smile and a soft laughter after listening to the others a few minutes.

**\----------**

After being out and about in Lumiose Zoo, they finally were home again. Lusamine quickly went to make dinner, while Mohn and the kids went outside, finding and filling up a kiddie pool for them to enjoy the rest of the day, while the sun was still up. While the pool was still getting filled up, Gladion and Lillie were talking about the animals they saw in the zoo, and which one was their favourite.

«The giraffes were cool!» Lillie exclaimed and gestured with her arms. «Their necks is SO long!»

Gladion nodded. «I liked the tigers too!» he added quickly. 

Mohn were watching the two discuss, their arms flailing everywhere as they gestured the important details of the animals they were talking about. He couldn't help but to smile. Lusamine had full view of the kids from the window in the kitchen, and could see that they were enjoying themselves as they were waiting for the pool to fill up with water. As they continued to talk and laugh, the strange looking girl Gladion saw the night before appeared, close to the hedge in the garden. 

She was giggling and skipping around, and it was now that he could fully see her. Short black hair, same color on the tail and ears, as well as she had paws on her feet with the same black color. The tails were short, and looked like a massive floofball on her back, because they were quite short. As the girl skipped around, behind Lillie, Gladion started to lean to the side, following her movements with his eyes. Lillie got confused as he did it, and looked behind her, seeing nothing.

«What are you looking at?» she said, slightly pouting and really wanted to know.

Gladion averted his gaze from the strange looking girl and over at Lillie again. Mohn noticed the confused expression on his face. «You can't see her?» he said all of a sudden.

Mohn's eyes grew wide and looked in the direction Gladion pointed when Lillie shaked her head. Mohn didn't see anything either, which he found strange, as he would usually be able to see the Fable if they were around, but this one, he couldn't see and it bothered him. He cleared his throat and got up from the chair.

«Let's see if the pool is full now, yeah?» he said, shifting the subject.

Both Gladion and Lillie looked up at him and nodded, smiling. They got up and hurried over to the pool, while Mohn calmly walked over. He noticed that Gladion would shift his gaze over to the corner every now and then, his eyes full of awe for seeing a Fable. Much more, seeing the same Fable. Lillie giggled as Mohn took the hose out of the pool, indicating that it was full, and she didn't hesitate jumping right in, splashing some of the water on Gladion, which snapped him back into reality, hissing at her to stop splashing water at him. Mohn chuckled as Gladion jumped in himself. They stayed outside until it was dinner, and then stayed inside for the rest of the evening, watching TV, and eventually putting the two kids to bed. Mohn mentioned the Fable again, and Lusamine sighed.

«Is the border really growing thin again?» she said, clearly sounding defeated.

«I don't think so, as if it was...I would have been able to see it.» He replied to her, the tone of his voice serious.

«You can't see it?» she then asked, looking a little horrified. 

Mohn shaked his head. «It's a first for me, and it sure bothers me.» he said, rubbing his chin and sighed loudly. «I think we just need to be careful and keep our minds open. I'll make sure nothing happens to him, you can count on that.»

«I know i can count on you, Mohn. It just scares me that even you can't see it...That in itself should be impossible.» Lusamine was clearly scared for Gladion, knowing that Mohn didn't see the Fable. All she could think about was if that Fable was an adult Fable, looking to lure him in for it's own gain. Which would be a new body to live in.

«Gladion won't disappear, honey.» he said, taking her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. 

Lusamine just looked up at him, meeting his warm smile. She couldn't do anything else than nod lightly, leaning her head onto his shoulder. «I know, but i can't help to be worried anyway.»

«Very much understandable.» he softly answered her.

Fables who could mask their appearance in the world of humans were seen as the most dangerous ones, as their intentions couldn't be seen. Most Fables who did that, were either looking to mess with humans, or to find a new host body. Usually the latter, wanting to live forever. Mohn had read up on the topic and were quite horrified by it. Something a Fable could do with their own free will were quite concerning, at least if it was a Wild Card. A _Wild Card_ being a Fable or a Fae that is living away from humans, but would occasionally get into a city or a town to look for an easy source of food, but would mask their existence, unless they felt threatened.


	3. Resentment

As the years passed, Gladion kept seeing the Fable at times and kept interacting with her. Mohn and Lusamine started to think it was just a regular imaginary friend he had, in a strange way, imagined when they were back in Kalos a few years prior. It all changed when Mohn disappears and Lusamine started to lose herself, slowly. Lillie and Gladion couldn’t do anything else than to watch. Once he disappeared, the Fable Gladion kept seeing and interacting with disappeared as well, making him feel abandoned. He didn’t manage to get any friends at school, as they found him either weird or scary looking, and that trend kept going until he finished high school. Soon starting college, he were sure that it would be the same, so he decided to just focus on his studies whenever that started. Lillie were quite stressed about him leaving for college, and still had no friends.

«You need friends, brother!!» she shouted over the table at him.

Gladion just sighed and scratched the back of his neck. «Don’t need friends. As well as they will distract me from my studies.»

«You do need friends! Just listen to yourself! You sound like an old man!» she exclaimed and started to mimic him. «I don’t need friends...blah blah blah~.»

Gladion scoffed. «Quit it...» he hissed at her.

Lillie just kept on going, and Gladion kept hissing for her to stop, only for Wicke to arrive and make them both stop. «Please, stop it. Young miss, Young master...this is no way to behave with your own family.» she said to them.

«Tell mother that...» Gladion hissed silently. Lillie noticed, but didn’t hear it, so she only pursed her lips at him, growling lightly.

Wicke sighed and shaked her head. «Miss Lillie...I know you like Fable lore and history. Do you care to help me with some of those research material’s?» she asked her sweetly.

Lillie nodded and got up from the chair she was sitting in, walking up to Wicke while giving Gladion a glare. Gladion just glared back, letting out a soft sigh as the two females left the room. Shaking his head a little and shifted his gaze out the window, looking out into the forest that were close to the mansion. He had been inside all day, so as he kept looking outside, he got up from his seat, deciding to take a walk before it got to dark. Walking out to the hallway and getting his shoes on, taking a jacket with him, he left the place. He wasn’t sure where to go, but away from everything would be a good start. Starting on a random path that were leading right into the forest sounded like a good start to him, so he found one and went with it, hoping that there wouldn’t be anyone taking the same path as him, as he definitely didn’t want to meet up with anyone.

Walking around, he could see several people through the trees, with they pet Fae. As the years had progressed, a Fable were a mere wild Fable, while a Fae is a ‘tame’ one, being around humans for years or at least a generation. It had also became a sport, using Fae’s in battles, buy and sell them for a great deal of money, as well as breeding farms were slowly coming up through the world. Gladion were quite disgusted by it, as a Fable should stay wild, as they are meant to be. Away from humans and definitely not be a pet like a cat or a dog. Mohn, his father had been studying Fables for a while, and had learned a great deal about them, only to disappear, assumed dead by InterPol, since he were working for them to find illegal battles between Faes, and people that were catching Fables, selling them off for a good amount of money. Lusamine had told them that at some point, they would most likely have one, even if it was as a pet or as a combatant for the many battles and tournaments across the globe. At the top of his research, he had found something interesting, but it was also the time he disappeared, both Lillie and Gladion thinking that he had gotten involved with something he shouldn’t, and got punished for that, most likely, killing him.

He had gotten quite far into the forest, and took a quick look around, not recognizing the surroundings. He did walk rather straight, so it should be fine and easy to find his way back. He didn’t stop, but continued to walk further, ending up at a small clearing with a pond, with a small waterfall gently running down the hill close to it. Stopping and looking around a little, he walked up to the edge of the pond, squatting down and looking into the water. It was quite clear, so he had a pretty nice view of the ground underwater. Filled with fishes with strange colors and markings, something he had never seen. He kept watching them, and the only thing coming to mind was they had to be some kind of a Fable, being as colorful as they were. With a quick second look around the place, he noticed a shadow that disappeared from the surface of the water, and he quickly looked up to where the supposed character would be standing. From the shadow it casted, it looked quite big and he sure didn’t want to stay around any longer to just find out.

He turned around and started to walk off, only to feel watched by whatever or whoever that was. Feeling quite intimidated by it, he didn’t even dare to look over his shoulder. He swallowed thickly and kept on walking off, leaving the clearing, starting to force himself to think about college and when that would start, as well as when he needed to start packing to leave. Walking for a while, being lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t notice the extra pair of steps that were taken behind him. The character walking behind him stepped on a small twig, which made Gladion stop as he heard it, and without thinking, he turned and looked over his shoulder, his eyes growing big at the sight behind him. It was a massive Fable, a wild Fae. Feeling intimidated by its size, he felt himself sink on his spot.

«Scared?» the Fable asked, tilting its head to its side.

Gladion shaked his head, trying to act unfaced, even though his eyes told a different story. «No...» he muttered.

The Fable’s voice were quite mature sounding, but had quite the playful and girlish giggle. «I see.» it said calmly, leaning forward to him. Gladion swallowed thickly as it’s muzzle came closer. «Your eyes tells a different story, human.»

Gladion kept looking into it’s grey colored eyes and couldn’t tell why, but felt that the Fable weren’t there to do any harm, but merely mess with him a little. «You are imagining things.» he lightly hissed to it.

The Fable shot it’s head back in surprise, tilting it slightly to the side in surprise. «Oh, is that so? That’s new to me.» it said, sounding rather surprised.

Gladion took a step forward, as he sure didn’t want anything to do with a Fable, much less, a wild one. All that they had learned in classed about a wild Fable were that they were incredibly unpredictable, which had, apparently, lead to many deaths in the past. It noticed that he took a step away from itself and let out a soft chuckle.

«I won’t hold you any longer, human. But don’t be scared, i won’t harm you….Unless you decide to threaten me.» it added, gritting it’s fangs at him, giving a low growl.

Gladion swallowed thickly as it gave a low growl to him. «It never crossed my mind...» he muttered.

«If that’s so, then please go ahead and leave...I’ll take my leave as well.» it said and turned around.

Gladion got a good view of the Fable. It was a dark colored one, but the light from the sun made it shine in a bluish hue. Taken from the voice it spoke in, it was a female, but from the books and articles, a Fable could mask their identity to the fullest, so it might as well be a male. Watching it walk off, back into the forest, he decided to hightail out of there, not wanting to bump into another Fable. If there was a massive one like that, there was bound to be several, ranging in different sizes. Getting back onto the main path, he got the shivers, but also quite lucky. An encounter like that were rare, and quite dangerous, and he would definitely not tell anyone, as that would endanger the Fable. Getting out of the forest, he took a last look over his shoulder, and saw the Fable again, giving him a nod before finally turning around, running off. Gladion stood there for a while, just looking into the woods. As quickly as he saw it again, it was gone just as quickly. Not wanting anything more to do with that he hurried back home. Apparently he had been out for a while, as the sun started to set, making the sky go orange. Walking the street back home, his mind were racing, going through all the possible things that could have happened if he probably had stayed longer, or if that Fable decided that he were a threat, ending up killing him. He shook his head a little, shaking the thought out of his head as he turned the corner, heading through the entrance to the mansion, getting up to the front porch and opened the door.

Once he opened the door, Wicke were standing there and looked at him in surprise. «Oh! Young master...Where have you been?» she asked.

He closed the door and started to take off his jacket. «I have just been out for a walk.» he replied, trying his best to sound calm, still having the events from earlier running around in his mind.

«Oh?...Alright. You sister, miss Lillie got worried when you didn’t reply.» she said, giving him a sweet smile.

Gladion patted the pockets on his pants and the jacket he just hung up. «Sorry about that...Forgot my phone in my room.»

Wicke nodded and didn’t ask anything more. She did tell him that Lusamine were looking for him, as it was about some papers for college he were attending. He nodded and started to walk towards the home office, as he knew she wasn’t around the main office for once. He surely didn’t want to talk to her, as she would include some Aether business for him while he was at college, and he hated it. The main reason why he were going to leave for college was to get away from Aether as much as possible, not wanting anything to do with the company. He personally didn’t mind what they were originally doing, which was to protect and save wild Fables, but as the years progressed, they also started to cater to the other side of the Fable world. Aether had started to do ID bands for people who had a Fae, a tame Fable, and Lusamine had given them a band each for whenever they probably would get a Fae. Lillie didn’t mind, though, Gladion didn’t like the idea. A Fae were once a Fable, that had just gotten so accustomed to the daily life with a human that they kept staying around, forgetting that they once were wild.

He kept the band around at all times, since Lusamine kept asking if they had it, and would occasionally demand to see it, so it became a habit to have it on them. Getting over to the home office, he could hear her on the inside, talking on the phone. Stopping in front of the door, he hesitated before knocking. Lusamine said that the door were open, and he opened the door, walking in. As she saw that it was him, she quickly ended the call and pointed at the chair in front of her desk, gesturing for him to sit down. Gladion got over and sat down, crossing his arms at her, not looking happy, knowing it was about some college stuff.

«What?» he lightly hissed.

She cleared her throat and sat back in the chair. «Your college principal called and were concerned that you didn’t have a Fae. As it seemed that that is a requirement.»

Gladion almost lost his lower jaw. «What…? I have stated it clearly that i don’t have one and definitely don’t want one. It’s literally animal abuse...» he hissed.

«They are not animals.» she corrected him, sighing.

«Whatever. It’s abuse nonetheless.» he hissed.

«Gladion...You got into one of the best colleges there is, and i won’t let you miss that because you didn’t have a silly Fae flying around you. You are getting a Fae. Even if it’s only for you to go there. End of discussion.» She told him in a stern voice. «You have the rest of the summer to look for one, and you better find one.» she added and found a couple of papers that needed to be looked through.

He got up from the chair and walked off, not being happy with what he had just heard. Lusamine just sighed and shaked her head, knowing fully well that he didn’t like the idea of having a Fae around at all times, but if that’s what it takes to fully get in to the college, then so be it. Gladion walked off, not being happy as he shut the door and continued down the corridor, heading for the stairs and his room. Passing the door to the living room, where Lillie and Wicke were sitting, talking about the difference between Fae’s and Fable’s, not finding many of them, other than a Fae is a tame one, and a Fable is a wild one. They noticed that Gladion hurried past the door, and started to go up the stairs. He stopped midway, looking down at the front door a little, but ended up continuing upstairs, heading over to his room. He could just run off, but knowing his mother, she would do whatever to find him, only to end up with some abuse. Lillie had never gotten anything of the sorts, and were quite oblivious of what Gladion had gone through when their father disappeared years ago. He got up to his room and locked the door behind him, not wanting anyone to interrupt him while he were in, letting out his frustration. He got over to the bed and dumped himself on to it, looking up at the ceiling.

«I don’t want a Fae nor do i need one...As they were the main reason why father disappeared.» he muttered to himself.

He looked up at the ceiling, and the feeling of resentment of the Fae’s came running back. He definitely didn’t want one, but at this point, he really had no choice either. He ran his hands over his face, groaning loudly, followed by a growl. He didn’t even know where to start looking for a Fae. At least he had the rest of the summer before anything were final.


	4. Collared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting this out there before it get's even weirder if you haven't realized yet. Luna is in a feral form, not a humanoid form. Just to clarify the collar thing. haha.

Months passed and college were starting in two weeks, and Gladion haven’t found a ‘suitable’ Fae yet, but had figured out where to look, so he occasionally kept an eye out. He had also met the Fable a couple of times, but the more he saw it, the more he kinda ‘knew’ it. It didn’t do much other than to crack a few jokes and act all playful, like a dog, in his opinion. He definitely didn’t want a Fae that acted like that, and that were massive. A Fable at that size were rare, but knowing it was a wild one, he couldn’t do much about it, other than to keep it at a distance and hope it didn’t kill him. He had been sitting inside all day, looking at the local website were Fae’s were listed up for sale, and he took a look, only to find them not suitable for either him, nor the supposed college life he were about to experience for three years. 

«Having trouble?» a female voice asked.

«No. No trouble here. Go away.» he hissed. A soft whine came from the balcony that were attached to his room. The Fable were sitting outside, but were too big to get up at the balcony, as well as inside. At least that’s what Gladion thought.

«I’m coming in.» she said.

Gladion panicked and looked over at the balcony, seeing the Fable getting ready to jump up. «Oh god! You won’t fit! You’ll even break the entire balcony of mine!» he hissed. The Fable didn’t hear him and jumped, only for its size to shrink, getting onto the platform in a, somewhat, normal shape. Gladion were baffled, as there were still things about Fable’s that were unknown to people. One being on how much magic powers they harbored within themselves, the second were on how well they could use it, and then the third was on how they managed to gain that power, as they were never born with it, only learnt it throughout the years.

«Oh..This is cozy.» she cheerfully said as she walked inside, looking around.

Gladion didn’t manage to get a word out, just looking at the creature which was rather tiny compared to just a few seconds ago. She looked over at him and gave a chuckle. «Something the matter? Cat got your tongue, human?»

«I...Well...How...What?» he muttered, exchanging glances between her and the balcony of his.

She chuckled some more and walked up to him, only to get up and look at the laptop’s screen, seeing what he was doing. «Oh? Looking for a Fae?»

Gladion panicked. «None of your business!» he hissed and closed it in a hurry.

She chuckled again. «You should have told me.» she told him and jumped down from the desk, turning around to look around his room again.

Gladion scoffed. «Like you can help...tsk.»

«Of course i can.» she replied, walking over to some of the photos that were on a shelf, jumping up to get a better look. «You don’t want the help?»

«Depends on what you mean with ‘help’.» he replied, not thinking that she would offer anything else than some bad joke, which was something she usually cracked around him anyway.

«I’ll be your Fae.»

Gladion looked at the creature, quite dumbfounded as he lost his lower jaw. «Huh...?» was all he managed to get out to her.

«You heard me. I’ll offer you my help while you are in college, and in return i just want to travel. I want to see more of the world. Even if it’s a small portion of it.» she said, getting down from the shelf and looked over at him.

«You have to be the dumbest Fable i have ever met...» he said, shaking his head. «You are literally asking me to ‘capture’ you.»

«Only for the years you are in college.» she repeated from herself, starting to walk up to him. «That should be a fine deal, considering that you need a ‘Fae’ to attend your college.»

«I...i don’t know...» he muttered.

«You should be happy that i’m the one giving you this offer, and it will ease you as well, no? You won’t buy me, or capture me like hunters do.» she added, sitting down and started to scratch the back of her ear, shaking her head a little when she were done.

«Give me...a day or two to consider it...» he muttered.

«That should be fine. Just call for me when you have your decision, whatever that will be.» she said and walked out to the balcony again. She jumped over the railings and just as she jumped onto it, her size changed again, getting back to her normal, massive size.

Watching her cautionally walk off into the forest beside the mansion. He kept an eye on her for a while before sitting back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling, not really sure how to react to what just happened. His eyes kept wandering around the room, and ended on the plush he had placed on a shelf over his desk.

«So...What do you think about that, Silvally?» he asked the plush, not expecting a reply. «Is it a good idea or a bad idea?» he added. He kept looking up at it and shaked his head. «I’m an idiot...» he muttered.

He opened the laptop again, and unlocked it, the screen popping up with the website with Fae’s for sale. Looking at the site just felt ridiculous after an offer like that from a Fable. He closed the browser and the laptop again, closing it. He had been looking the entire summer, and haven’t been able to do anything that he, somewhat, wanted to do while he could. He looked up at the plush again.

«Still no answer, eh?» he asked the plush again. He gave a soft chuckle. «Like you’ll ever answer me anyway...» he added, hanging his head a little, giving off a soft sigh.

There was a soft bark, which made him look at the plush in surprise. He stared at it for a while, before turning his gaze out to the balcony when he saw the Fable again, giving off a soft chuckle and disappeared again. He growled and snarled at the Fable as she left again. 

«Fucking Fable...» he growled and gave her the finger out of habit, muttering curse words as he did.

**\----------**

A few days passed, and Gladion had been thinking thoroughly about the offer the Fable gave him. It was for the best, and he had to give her an answer soon as well. The Fable hadn’t been around after that offer it gave him, and he thought it was because she probably were joking, but then again, she did tell him to call for her, whatever that meant. He didn’t know her name, and had no idea how to ‘call’ for her. Trying to think of a way to call her, he didn’t find any and decided to clear his head, taking a stroll around the city. It was exactly one week until he were leaving for college, and needed a Fae to accompany him, or else he would lose the spot. Which was something he couldn’t afford, as he had put everything into being away for three years.

Getting out of the mansion, he started to walk towards the city, just generally going to look around and figure out a way on how to call for the Fable, accepting the offer of having her as his ‘Fae’ for three years, then letting her go when college is done. Getting to the city, he kept seeing people walking around with their Fae’s, which made him quite disgusted, and the fact that he had to be doing that for three years were overbearing. Giving a soft sigh, he turned, not wanting to see more of it. With a sigh, he started to pass the forest along the way. Starting to think on how to call for the creature, he looked into the forest, trying to spot her behind the trees, which should be hard as she was massive. He definitely didn’t feel like he could get home without anything.

He sighed loudly, looking up at the sky. «How hard is it to find you…?» he muttered.

«Find me? I’m always around though.»

Gladion flinched, and looked over to the side, seeing her sitting there with her head tilted to the side. She gave a soft chuckle which made a faint blush appear on his cheeks. «Shut up...» he hissed.

«Your reply?» she asked, her ear twitching lightly, being irritated by a fly swirling around it.

«Uuh...Well...» he muttered. He had scripted it in his head, but now that he were in the situation to actually give a reply, he didn’t know how to do it. She just tilted her head more. He cleared his throat. «I...I accept.»

Her ears perked up. «Oh? I’m surprised, since it took you awhile.»

«Been debating with myself about it...But college is something i have to finish.» he said, not looking at her.

She just hummed softly. «That’s fine.» she said and got up on her feet, taking a few steps. As she did, her size changed to a smaller one, to the size of a large dog. «I suppose you don’t have one of those...ID things. I keep seeing other Fables wearing them...Shouldn’t i as well?» she asked and sat herself down in front of him.

«Well...yeah...» he muttered. He looked around a little, but instead of placing the ID tag on her, he decided to give her something more proper. «Come on...We’ll find something more suitable.» he said and started to walk off into the city again.

She followed after him, not sure what he were thinking, but knew that he would give her a tag, as it was needed. Getting into the city, she were walking close by his side, but kept looking around, seeing the many different Fae’s wandering around with their humans. They were in all shapes and sizes, and it was quite fascinating to her, seeing that Fables and Humans could live in harmony like that. She knew about the battles that many were taking part in, but didn’t know what they meant, thinking it was just a way to show off their powers or something, not an actual fight. Gladion had his hands in his pockets as he walked down the street, keeping a close eye on the Fable that were walking by his side in the corner of his eyes. The more he looked at her, the more he wondered why she kept the size of a St Bernard, and not a smaller size.

«Something on your mind?» she asked, as she did notice him look at her.

«Not really.» he quickly replied and looked away from her.

«If you say so.» she hummed softly. 

Gladion stopped in front of a store, looking through the windows a little before turning to her. «Actually...What’s your name?» he asked.

«Luna.» she calmly told him. «In fact...You shouldn’t even be needing to ask me that.» she added.

«Whatever...» he hissed and got over to the door of the store. «Wait outside.» he added and walked in.

The door chimed as he opened it and closed it. Luna sat down on the pavement, looking inside of the window, trying to see what he were doing, but couldn’t see him anywhere between the shelves. It luckily didn’t take to long before he got out again with a small bag on his hands. She looked up at him curiously as he nodded for her to get going, so she quickly got up on her feet and followed after him. They walked over to the nearby park that had recently gotten renovated, it being run down to the ground as there was no one to take care of it. Going through the entrance and a little further inside, Luna were looking around as usual. Being a wild Fable, she wasn’t used to walk around so casually in a city, and would keep herself to the outskirts, occasionally peeking in to the city, watching the people and Fae’s walk around casually. Gladion found a bench that were, more or less, quite hidden. He sat down and found whatever he had bought in that store, adding the ID that of his onto it and called her over. She sat down in front of him, but didn’t notice what he placed around her neck. As she heard a light clicking sound, she looked over at him, then down at herself, seeing a collar around her neck.

«A collar? Do i need one of these?» she asked.

«People won’t hunt you down if you are wearing one. The ID tags my parents company is making is not suited for creatures like you.» he said, sitting there and kept watching her as she puffed her chest up, trying to look at the accessory she had gotten.

«Fascinating.» she muttered softly. She had never had any accessory in her life, so she felt quite proud of actually having one for the first time. «I’ll treasure it. Thank you.»

«Treasure it...» he chuckled, mocking her as he rolled his eyes.

She scoffed at him. He couldn’t see it, but her eyes were clearly sparkling for wearing one, not understanding what it meant for the coming years that she would accompany him at college. He couldn’t stop seeing her like a dog, as it seemed that her mentality was of one, though, her speech were quite advanced. He just shrugged it off, thinking it was just a Fable thing, knowing that a wild one probably never had been around people, at least not for a long period of time. Sitting for a while, he decided to get back to the mansion, as he couldn’t stay around and ‘hide’ from his family, as well as they did need to know before him traveling to college that he had gotten himself a Fae, which he had protested against since he got to know he needed one, yet, there he was, ‘owning’ one for once. Getting up on his feet, Luna noticed and asked if they were leaving, which he just nodded at.

Walking out of the park, throwing the bag away in the trash, they started on the streets, heading back to the Aether mansion. He were feeling quite uncomfortable, feeling that everyone were looking at him as a Fable were walking by his side, knowing fully well that she was a Fable, and not a Fae. Getting out of the city, they started to pass the forest, where he had originally and by accident, met Luna when the summer vacation just started. He looked over his shoulder at her, as she were calmly walking by his side. At the end of the street, they arrived at the mansion and Gladion walked up the front porch, while Luna did hesitate, being quite cautious. Gladion did reassure her that she would be fine, now that she had a collar on as well. She didn’t question him and walked up to him, slowly while looking around the open space. He kept the door open for her to walk in before he as well stepped inside, getting off his shoes and jacket, hanging it up.

Her dark coloration were quite the contract around the place, as it was mostly white with a few black and golden accents to make it less ‘dull’. Lillie were in the living room, reading when she saw Gladion walk in, only to be surprised that a Fae came walking in behind him.

She gasped in surprise and slammed the book shut, almost throwing it onto the table in front of her. «Oh my gosh!?!? You got a Fae!?» she exclaimed.

Gladion were taken aback by her outburst, but sat down opposite of her and nodded. «Yeah...» he muttered, looking over at Luna, who got busy looking around the room.

«Oh my gosh!» she exclaimed and put the book down in a hurry, clapping her hands in excitement. «Is that why you have been out so much the past week? Where did you find it?»

He didn’t expect questions, so he didn’t really know how to reply. «Uuh...Well...She was...abandoned...and...i kept checking up on her to make sure she were either gone or that i just could...take her in...» he muttered, trying to make it sound as plausible as possible.

«She? She’s so pretty!!» she exclaimed loudly, gasping. Lucky for him, she didn’t question him more on how he found her or where, she got more excited about the ‘Fae’ that were walking around, sniffing at things and just generally exploring the room.

The rest of the day ended with Lillie grooming her, and kept telling Gladion that he should do it at least once a day, and that Luna were a  _ lady _ , and should be treated as such. Gladion didn’t say anything and just kept nodding at her, but knew fully well that he probably wouldn't do anything of the sorts, unless it was absolutely necessary. Luna didn’t say much in the matter and just let Lillie go through her fur with a brush, which felt quite nice as she made a soft purring like sound, looking extremely content. When Lusamine saw her, she as well gasped in surprise and asked whatever of questions to Gladion, which he just replied to, not wanting anything more to do with it. At least Lusamine were happy that he had listened and taken the step to get one. Both of the females not knowing that it was a wild one, that had struck a deal with him for the college years only.


	5. Not Alone

The last week passed, and Gladion had packed whatever he needed, and even gotten an extra seat at the flight over to the region where the college were. It was a long trip over, but he needed the space, beside the Fable, Luna, tagging along, just because he needed a ‘Fae’ to attend. Luna had been quiet for most of the week, just looking around and getting used to the new life she were about to start. Putting herself in the care of a human, which was quite terrifying, for both parts. Gladion was doing some final packing, while Luna were laying on the bed, relaxing while keeping an eye on him. For the last week, she had gotten up in the bed, as she definitely didn’t want to sleep on the floor, even though he kept throwing her down. In the end, he gave up, as she kept being persistent. 

A day ago, Lusamine and Gladion had gotten into a heated argument in her office. She kept demanding things that he should do while still study, which he refused to, and kept telling her that he needed to focus on his studies and not work for the company. It became so heated that Lusamine got ready to strike him, and right before she were about to do so, Luna, who also were in the room, watching the whole ordeal unfold gave a light growl at her, indicating that the Fable surly wouldn’t hesitate to do anything to keep him from harm's way, even if it meant hurting a family member. Lusamine just snarled at him that he was lucky to even have the Fae around him, and considering that he found her ‘abandoned’ and that she got so attached to him in that short period of time.

«You are just lucky.» she snarled. «Hopefully these years will do some good.» she added.

Gladion scoffed and gestured for Luna to follow as he walked out of the office, feeling quite hurt and disappointed. He had done whatever throughout the years to get accepted, only to get to know that he’ll never be good enough. Luna had figured out as much and felt quite bad about it, but she didn’t know what else to do than to just be close and listen if he needed to vent about it. He got done packing the few things and were finally done, and sat down on the edge of the bed, laying down and started to look up and around the ceiling. He gave a off a loud sigh, which made Luna look up at him and get up on her feet. She silently walked over and jumped up onto the bed, seeing that he were still quite upset about the argument the other day.

She took a few steps over to him and laid down beside him, nudging his arm. She didn’t say anything, but just casually demanded that he started to pet her, as she could feel that it eased the tension within him a little. She didn’t deny it that she liked it, getting rather addicted to being petted. As tiring it was for her to nudge him, he eventually ended up moving his hand over to her, starting to gently run his fingers through the fur on her neck. As quickly he started, she started to give off a soft mur like sound, which were her way to say that she liked it. As quickly she started to do that, she closed her eyes, just starting to enjoy it. Gladion gave a quick look at her, seeing her quite content expression, which just made him smile softly.

«You ready for the long flight?» he asked her.

«As ready as i can get...and as long as i don’t sit in a crate, i’ll be fine.» she replied softly.

He hummed softly. «Not sure how you’ll be fine on a long flight like that, but if you say so...» he said, giving a light shrug while laying there. «We are leaving this evening after all.»

«I’ll be fine. I’ll probably just sleep most of the time anyway. And so should you.» she replied.

He hummed softly, moving his hand down to her shoulder area, scratching her there. As he started to do that, she leaned into his hand, which just meant that she liked it and needed a good scratch around there. He got a soft smile on his lips, but it left as quickly as he got it, looking away from the Fable and over and out of the window, looking outside. He stopped scratching on her shoulder, but kept his hand lingering on her. She looked down at him and noticed the distant look in his eyes, and she fully knew it was from the argument.

«Don’t take it to heart.» she said softly to him.

He looked over at her in surprise, but knew what she were talking about. «It’s common practice around here...I’m used to it.» he muttered.

«You are definitely not used to it. I can see it in your eyes.» she replied. «If you need to vent, i’ll listen.» she added.

«I’m fine.» he replied quickly and retrieved his hand from her, sitting up and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he ran his hands over his face, giving off a frustrated sigh.

She looked over her shoulder at him, and didn’t really know what to do. She could understand how he possibly felt, but she just didn’t know how to approach it. He just ended up sitting there, and she kept looking at his back for a while. Wicke then arrived and knocked on the door of his before opening. She gave them a sweet smile, telling him that he should get the luggage that he had down to the front hallway, ready to get into the car before leaving. Gladion nodded and got up from the bed, grabbed the bag and started to drag it out of the room. Luna were about to get up and tag along, but before she got down from the bed, he told her that she could just stay behind, as he would be getting back and get some of the other bags he had packed. She turned around and laid down again, giving him a nod. Gladion then proceeded to drag his bag down to the main hallway, Wicke excused herself when they got down the stairs, as Lusamine had called for her, and told him that she just didn’t want him to lose the flight.

Getting the bag down and placing it right beside the door, he watched Wicke leave for Lusamine’s office. Not wasting any time, he got up the stairs again and over to his room, ready to grab another bag of his. Getting into his room again, Luna were still laying on the bed, very much awake as he got his other bag. She didn’t bother to move, as he still had a bag left to get as he walked out of the room again. Watching him leave the room again, she turned her attention outside, looking out of the open door at the balcony. For the short time she had been a ‘pet’, she strangely didn’t miss the wild. She didn’t know why, probably because she usually continued to wander around, not having a purpose or anything ordinary to do. She finally had somewhere to call ‘home’, even if it was for a short period of time only, she would at least try and enjoy it to the fullest, without being overbearing. She could take a humanoid form, but from what she had heard, humans took a longer time to open up to a fellow human, so she decided to stay in her feral form for a while, at least until she felt that Gladion were ready to see the ‘human’ her. She didn’t want to scare him off either by all of a sudden turn into a human, which would definitely scare him to an extent. Laying there, getting lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t notice that Gladion had gotten up to the room again and called her name, only to get no reply from her. He walked over to her and put his hand on her head, which made her snap out of her thoughts.

«You okay?» he asked.

«Oh..Yes, i’m fine. Just thinking.» she replied softly.

«About what?» he questioned her, raising an eyebrow.

«Well...More of what i’ll be seeing while you are busy with your studies and what people you’ll meet and what Fae’s i’ll meet and...» she started.

«Hold on..hold on...Breathe.» he stopped her, as she started to babble. He didn’t think much of it, thinking that she were either just nervous or really excited.

«Sorry~.» she said sweetly, followed by a soft giggle.

He just replied with that it’s fine, and then told her that they should get downstairs, as they would be leaving to the airport soon, getting into the plane they would be using. Luna had never flown before, so she got really excited, the thought of being high up in the sky, and possible see stars pass the windows of the plane sounded amazing. He didn’t even bother to tell her that stars did not float in the sky and that she would see them pass by the windows on the plane. She would, of course, get very disappointed, but there was nothing he could really do about it. She got off the bed and stretched herself before shaking a little, and they both headed downstairs, placing his bag with the two others before they walked into the living room, seeing no one. Lillie had left a few hours earlier, going to get something she found important, and had told him that she didn’t know if she would make it back before he left, so she had already said her goodbye. Lusamine had been at the main office the whole day, and Wicke were the only one running around the place, probably making sure that he left and didn’t do anything else dumb before leaving.

Luna started to pace around the room, while Gladion just stood in the doorway, watching her as he crossed his arms and leaned on to the doorframe. She didn’t pay him any attention, but knew he was keeping an eye on her while she walked around, looking and sniffing at the different things that were new to her.

«Ain’t you getting anything to eat soon?» she then asked him, looking over at him with her head slightly tilted, ears perked up and towards him.

«Not hungry.» he flatly replied to her.

«You did say it was a long flight, and that you hated airplane food. Better stock up now, right?» she replied, walking past the couch and looked over at him from behind it.

«Maybe. I’m just not hungry.» he told her.

She gave a soft sigh. «But...I’m hungry...» she whined.

«Why didn’t you just say so?» he sighed.

«I didn’t want to seem...intrusive?» she said, walking up to him.

«You are not. Really.» he said and walked off towards the kitchen.

Luna hurried with him, almost jumping forward. She wasn’t really hungry, but it was the only way to get him to start on something, and possibly make something for himself. For only being around for a week, she had observed him closely, and gotten to know him slightly, though, there was still a lot she needed to know, and the flight would be the next step. He opened the fridge and found something, and as he did, he figured that he would just make a simple sandwich for himself.

«Oh! You’re making sandwiches!? Can i have one too?» she asked, her tail wagging at the sight of him actually making something that he would eat.

«No.» he flatly replied to her.

She walked up to him and were about to jump up to the counter, looking at him while he made it. He lightly hissed at her for not getting her dirty paws on the counter, to which she improvised, using him to keep her balance. It surprised him a little, feeling her weight pushing against him all of a sudden. They exchanged looks and he told her to get down, to which she refused to, and kept pestering him that she wanted a sandwich like his as well. After she kept repeating that she wanted one for a while, he snarled at her that she definitely wouldn’t get any if she didn’t shut up.

«I’ll start humping on you.» she added, teasing him as she knew he hated, making him utterly uncomfortable and embarrassed.

«Don’t you dare...» he hissed.

«Sandwich or i’ll start.» she said.

«Stop...» he muttered.

«I’m starting.»

«Stop it...» he hissed.

«I’m starting…~» she said, and started to get into the position.

«Fine! You’ll get a sandwich! Just stop!» he snarled as his cheeks flushedred.

«Yay~!» she exclaimed and straightened up her pose, and kept watching him.

He kept growling to himself as he made her a sandwich first, handing it to her. As she took it, she jumped down and started to eat on it while he started to make himself one. He finished one for himself and put the ingredients away before taking it on hand, taking a bite of it before he realized what she just did.

He looked down at her, narrowing his eyes, but couldn’t really be mad either. «You are really clever...» he muttered.

She looked up at him while chewing one a piece of the sandwich. «I know.» she muttered with the food in her mouth.

He sighed softly as he took another bite of the sandwich, watching her finish the one he made for her. She finished it and sat there, licking around her muzzle a little before a yawn escaped her. Gladion kept eating and walked out of the kitchen, with Luna following him closely. As they walked out to the living room again, Wicke came walking in, telling them that she were just about to look for them. She told them that they had to get ready as they would be leaving soon for the airport, as the taxi driving them over would be outside soon. Gladion nodded and and finished the food in a hurry as he walked out into the hallway, getting on some shoes and finding his jacket. As quickly he got the jacket on, the taxi arrived. Wicke helped to get the bags down to the car, while Gladion and the driver got them into the car. Luna sat outside of the car, waiting for them to get the bags in and getting ready to get into the car.

Wicke were tearing up as she gave him a hug. «Be safe and take care of yourselves.» she said, talking about both of them.

«We’ll be fine. Thanks.» he replied, and opened the door, letting Luna jump in first.

He got in and closed the door, and gave her a small wave as the taxi got going, heading out of the front entrance and towards the airport. Gladion could feel himself getting nervous, being three years in a row away, but were also slightly feeling relieved. Being away meant that there wouldn’t be any arguments or any abuse from Lusamine, though he started to worry that Lillie might be the one getting that after a while.

«You sister will be fine.»

He looked down at Luna, who had placed her front paws and head on his lap. «I hope so.» he muttered lightly, averting his gaze outside the windows, seeing the streets that he usually walked alone on in the dark were going to be history for a while. The reality slowly got to him. He’s moving away from home, were he had been trapped for 18 years, and were now going to a different region to attend college for three years. He looked down at Luna, placing his hand on her head, gently stroking her while she were comfortable.

_ At least you are around... _


	6. Companion

They had been on the flight for a while now, and Luna had started to sleep, which was something she said that she would do once they were up in the air.  The part on getting onto the plane went as usual, and Luna didn’t think much of it, other than feeling excited. Once Gladion had sat himself down, Luna got, somewhat, comfortable and the plane were to take off, she got nervous. The engine of the plane started and she slowly made her way over to Gladion, pressing herself up against his legs when the fright got to her. He could feel that she were shivering, and knew why without asking. Her first flight, despite being excited at first, he knew that she would get scared at some point. As the plane got to the runway, and started to gather speed for a take off, she started to press her head towards his leg, in an attempt to hide. 

Once they were up in the air, she calmed down and slowly got excited again, thinking that she finally could see stars passing by the plane, so she hurried up to a window, looking outside. She didn’t see anything and got a little disappointed as she jumped down again. Gladion just chuckled silently at her, shaking his head. After an hour, she laid down beside him and got comfortable, snoozing. Gladion kept himself busy with his phone, looking up the college and a map around the place, as well as finding the address to where he would be living for the next three years. He did eventually find the place, and it was a few blocks away from the college grounds, but he didn’t mind. It just meant that he had more privacy than the people living in the dorms, which he liked. The apartment he would be living in were of a moderate size, even a bit to big for just one person. Luna shifted her position, giving off a content sigh as she curled up again, going back to sleep.

Watching her sleep made him quite sleepy as well, so he put his phone away and got more comfortable in his seat, trying to get some sleep, as well as was night time already. As much as he hated to sleep on planes, it was needed as he didn’t want to get to much of a jet lag when landing again. Putting the seat down a little, he got comfortable, crossed his arms and closed his eyes. It took a while before he managed to sleep, since Luna started to lightly yelp in her sleep, probably dreaming about something. Once she stopped yelping lightly in her sleep, he fell asleep rather quickly. The hours passed more quickly, and he woke up by some heavy turbulence after a while. He sat the seat up and yawned as he reached for his phone, taking a quick look at the time. He had been asleep for a few hours, and the sky had started to light up, the sun starting to show itself over the clouds in the horizon.

«Slept well?» Luna asked, sitting beside him with a tilted head.

He looked down at her and nodded. «More or less.» he muttered in a husky voice.

«Just asking since you were slightly trashing in your sleep. Did you have a nightmare?» she asked, moving to his front.

«No. I just generally sleep really bad on a plane.» he replied.

She jumped up to his lap, looking directly at him. «Are you sure?»

Gladion sighed and nodded. «Yes, i’m sure.» he replied flatly.

She relaxed a little and moved her head to his chest, gently pressing it towards him as a sign of trust from her. «If you need to vent or anything, i’ll listen.» she said calmly.

For not have had her around for long, and that she had said the same thing several times, it just surprised him the most at this moment. He placed his hands on her cheeks, and gently used his thumb to stroke her soft fur. «I know, and you keep telling me that.»

«I’ll keep telling you until you believe it.» she added, starting to mur softly.

He just sighed softly, not sure what she meant with that. The more he gently ran his thumbs over her fur, she relaxed and were eventually laying down in his lap, her head laying on his torso, looking quite content. For being a Fable, a wild one, she were unusually affectionate in his opinion. He loved her murring sounds, as he found it cute. Weird noises coming from a Fable like her were just strange, as Fae’s would do them.

«You weird dog.» he muttered softly to her.

She just scoffed at him, opening her eyes and looked up at him. As she did, he moved his hands over her face, making her close her eyes again as he kept on petting her gently.

\----------

The rest of the flight were used to sleep on. The landing were just like the take off for Luna, her pressing herself up to him while shivering like crazy, but everything were fine again once she got out of the plane, and felt some solid ground under her paws. Gladion chuckled softly when he saw the relieved expression she gave, only for her to scoff at him, getting embarrassed by herself. Getting his luggage and into a taxi, they were on their way to the apartment he would be staying in. The drive over were rather long, but at least they got, somewhat, of a look at the city. The taxi driver kept on talking and asking questions, to which Gladion did politely reply to, but were quite irritated by it. It was late, he was tired and just wanted to get some proper sleep in a bed. And he were sure Luna felt the same, despite her keeping her eyes locked out of the window, looking at the many people and their Fae’s that were walking around at night, minding their own business.

She kept wagging her tail in his face, to the point he grabbed, making her flinch and look a bit mad at him. She only got met with his irritated look while putting her tail down, hissing for her to keep it down and not in his face. She then giggled softly and apologized and sat down in the seat instead of standing, which currently made him happier, knowing that her tail were out of his face. The driver laughed softly and complimented him on Luna, telling him that she were a rather well trained Fae, and one of the better ones he had even seen. Gladion just told him that it took a while as he gave her a glare, to which she noticed and didn’t dare to look around at him, doing her best to look like she didn’t hear it.

The taxi driver pulled up to the apartment complex and helped him to get the luggage out of the trunk. Gladion paid for the ride over, thanking him for the service as he got over to the drivers side. He wished him well and then drove off. Luna were standing on his side, watching the car drive off before she took a look around herself, while Gladion got the bag over his shoulder, and dragged the two others with him in. Luna shortly followed after him into the lobby. She slowly walked up to him, as he had gotten over to the reception, waiting for the lady behind the counter to get the key to his new place. Luna kept an eye on him as she were looking around, taking in the new surroundings and scents. Once he got the key, he called for her to get over and they both got into the elevator, pressing the button for their floor. It was one of the higher floors, but knowing his family, Lusamine had gotten one of the more expensive ones.

The elevator music were terrible, but after a while, they ended up at their floor, walking out of the lift and in the direction to the apartment. Luna kept getting slightly distracted while passing the other doors, hearing others on the other side of them, which she found very interesting. Gladion had to call on her for a few times, and were rather annoyed at it. She ran up to him after he had stopped and unlocked a door, letting himself in with the luggage of his. She waited for him to get in first before she followed behind him, dashing over to the massive wall made of windows. Gladion sighed and closed the door, locking it again before walking over to her.

«We are so high up!» she exclaimed in excitement.

«Yeah.» he hummed softly, looking down at her.

She was wagging her tail to the fullest from being so overly excited. He looked around a little as well, seeing that he could see the college grounds from the apartment. From being so high up, it looked like the college were close by and that he would definitely check out the place tomorrow, having a few days to get adjusted to the new place and the new city. Walking back to his bags, he decided to at least unpack a little, while Luna were being busy looking outside and pacing the windows, wanting to see as much as possible from every angle possible. The apartment had the basic furniture and supplies, but it wasn’t much, so he could put his own touch to it if he wanted to with the years. Finding the master bedroom, he dragged the bags with him and started to unpack, getting the clothes of his in the wardrobe and the drawers that were already in the apartment. It didn’t take to long, and once he got the bags stored away, he got out to the living room again, seeing Luna on the couch, being comfortable.

He walked over to her and leaned down over the back of it. «Comfortable?»

She perked her ears a little. «Very much so.» she replied softly, looking up at him with a content expression.

He jumped over the couch and sat down beside her, reaching for the TV remote, wanting to check what channels that they had, and if there was something interesting to watch. It was close to midnight, but he wasn’t really tired, as well as he were sure that Luna wasn’t feeling sleepy either, being so excited earlier. As he got comfortable, Luna turned around towards him, placing her head in his lap while closing her eyes. Gladion didn’t mind and put his hand on her head, gently stroking her. While looking through the channels, he found something that were, somewhat, interesting, but while watching and petting her, he came to think that he had never really realized how soft her fur was, to the point of it feeling like silk. It was rather strange when he thought more about her. He had always been resentful against the Fae’s and Fable’s, only to end up needing one for college, and accept her offer for her to be his ‘Fae’ while he were studying. The only requirement for her was that she could see the world a little more, and he sure didn’t know how to do that, predicting that she, most likely, had to tag along to the college grounds, as many of the classes he would take would include something about Fae’s and Fable’s.

He kept gently running his hand over her head, it felt like he had known her for longer than two weeks, as he were quite comfortable having her around, and did actually enjoy her company, being the naive creature that she was. Thinking back to when he accepted her offer, she did mention that he shouldn’t need to ask for her name, which confused him then, and even now.

_ What did you mean by that…? _

He kept his eyes on her for a while before he shrugged it off for the time being, thinking that it might be something a Fable is saying just to mess with people. He looked up at the TV again and kept watching whatever that was on the TV. He sat there for a while, watching a couple of episodes of the show before looking down at her, who were still in the same position.

«You sleeping?» he asked her.

«Almost…~» she murred softly.

«It’s late, so i guess we’ll just get some sleep then.» he said softly.

She hummed softly, not wanting to move, but as soon as he moved, she had to and wasn’t very happy about it. He got up on his feet and turned off the TV before stretching his back a little. Luna sat in the couch a little, watching him walk off. She didn’t know if he would allow her on the edge of the bed, as usual, so she didn’t do anything, just sitting there, waiting for something to happen, which it did.

Gladion peeked around the corner of the hallway. «You not coming?» he asked, sounding surprised.

«You’ll allow me?» she asked, sounding a little upset for some reason.

Gladion noticed the sadness in her voice and were wondering why. «Are you upset? Why is that?»

«I’m not upset...Just...tired, i guess.» she replied and tilted her head.

«Then come on. It’s past midnight after all.» he said.

«You’ll allow me to sleep with you?» she asked again, her head tilted to the side.

«You have done that since day one anyway...why the hesitation now?»

«Because...new place?» she replied.

«It’s fine...I have gotten used to it already.» he replied to her.

Her ears perked up. «Really!?»

A faint blush came to his cheeks as he looked away from her. «Yeah...» he muttered and walked off.

She jumped off the couch and happily skipped over. She liked to stay at the edge of the bed, as she felt more safe that way. Gladion didn’t want to admit it, but he, himself, felt safer and slept better knowing that she were around. Getting into the bedroom, she jumped up, looking happy as she waited for him to get ready and under the duvet. Once he got under and somewhat comfortable, she laid down as well, curling up and laying close to him. Gladion kept looking around the room a little. It being a new place, and he needed a few days to fully adjust to the place. Luna tried to fall asleep, but noticing that he were awake made her very much awake as well. She looked up at him, giving a soft whine towards him, which made him look down at her. She gave a light wag of her tail, and he placed his hand on the side of her head, gently scratching her a little before she moved up a little, placing her head on his lower torso. He kept petting her until she fell asleep, as well as he gradually got more sleepy. He stopped petting her after a few minutes, and closed his eyes, falling asleep while listening to her soft breathing.


	7. Kyuubi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something else to clarify in this fic before it's to late.
> 
> Fable in the context i'm using it means a Wild Fae.   
> A Fae is the common word for a tame Fable that lives with humans etc.

The next day started with them going out to get groceries so they could get something to eat before exploring the surrounding area. While at the store, Luna had to wait outside, as there was a sign saying ‘no Fae’s allowed inside’. She didn’t mind, and waited patiently outside, watching the many people and Fae’s walk the street, passing her. New people and new Fae’s, that she had only heard about were finally something she had seen, but were very cautious as for them not to notice that she were a Fable, as that would end up in a disaster in itself. Gladion got whatever of the basics, thinking that if there was something else he or Luna would want or need, they’ll just get to the store at a later time. He paid for the stuff and bagged it, walking out of the store, seeing that Luna were quite busy looking around.

«Ready to get going again?» he asked her.

She nodded and hummed softly. «Yupp.» she replied and looked up at him. «Got whatever you needed?»

«Most of it i guess. Let’s get back before we explore the area more.» he added, starting to walk off. Luna quickly tagged after him.

As they found their way to the complex building again, there was some commotion going on at the other side of the street. Luna stopped to get a better look, while Gladion kept on walking, not paying too much attention to it, as it was pretty common back home as well. People arguing about who’s Fae is the better looking or fighter. As she noticed that he were a few feet ahead of her, she hurried up to him. Appearntly some of the people in the commotion noticed Luna and got quite intrigued by her looks, being one of those ‘good looking’ ones in their opinion. Nudging their friend, who were still quite busy arguing with the other person in front of them snapped them out of it, making them look over their shoulder and at Luna, who were busy sniffing the bag, trying to figure out what Gladion had bought. They were looking with interest on Luna, and decided to leave the person they had started the commotion with alone, finding something more interesting. They abandoned the previous one and started to follow after Gladion and Luna, seeing that he were quite the new face around the place. Seeing the two turned the corner, into the area of the complex, they decided to wait outside for them to arrive again. They didn’t take too long to get downstairs again, wanting to look around a little more, as well as getting to know the route over to the college grounds, getting an estimated time on how long it would walk over, so he could get up in good time before he had to leave for classes.

Getting outside again, they turned the corner and started to stroll down the street towards the college ground. The two others who were interested in Luna had hidden themselves around the corner of the complex, being out of sight when they passed them. As quickly they passed, they started to follow them. Gladion were rather busy looking at the map he had found on his phone, making sure that they would walk down the right streets. Luna jumped forward while giving off a sharp yelp, making him flinch and look at her with big eyes and confusion.

«Oh, sorry about that.» a male voice said behind them.

Gladion looked behind him, seeing two guys, approximately around his own age. Luna were hiding behind his legs, looking at the two while still being quite spooked, giving off a low growl. «What did they do?» he asked her.

«One of them pulled my tail…!» she muttered, looking up at him, looking quite upset.

«My apologizes...My friend just likes to pull on things he likes.» one said, giving his friend the elbow, which made the other guy frown a little. «Your Fae is just really pretty looking.» he added.

«Appreciate that, but we are quite busy.» Gladion told them and turned around, starting to walk off. Luna turned around as well, but kept an eye on the males behind them, not wanting to get her tail pulled again, as it was quite painful.

The two just smirked at each other, nodding as they started to follow after them. Luna got increasingly suspicious and nervous, knowing that they were following them. «They follow us...» she muttered to him.

«I know...Just ignore them.» he told her.

They kept on walking for a while, at least until one of them ran for it and grabbed Luna’s collar, dragging her behind to them, and kept holding it tightly. Gladion turned and snarled at them to let her go, as they had no business with them whatsoever.

«You have business with us now, i can tell that much.» the guy said. «It’s a pretty face...Would you like to sell it to me?» he asked, making it sound like he were ordering him to just hand her over.

«She’s not for sale. Let her go.» he hissed.

The guy shrugged. «To bad...we’ll just take her by force then.»

«That’s something you just can’t do.» he snarled at them.

The guy got down on his knees and took a firm grip on her neck and clicked the collar off of her, and were about to fit her with his own. She growled and snapped at him, going for a bite. It made both of the guys let go of her in a hurry, taking a few steps back. Gladion walked up to her and grabbed the collar that were throw to the side. He looked over at them, holding the collar tightly, scowling.

«I told you that you just can’t do that.» he repeated to them. Luna kept her stance, ready to attack if needed while she kept growling, gritting her teeth at them. Gladion kneeled down and put on the collar again. «Let’s get going. They ain’t worth your time or energy.» he said.

«Fine...I won’t hesitate if they grab me again.» she snarled.

«That’s fine.» he replied and got up on his feet again.

Gladion started to walk off, while Luna kept standing around a little longer and kept on growling at them for a while before she turned around, running over to Gladion’s side. The two just stood there, looking rather dumbfounded, but decided to keep following them, watching them in hopes that he would let his guard down, as well as his Fae. Luna kept herself on alert the whole way over to the college grounds. The front gate were closed, as the classes wouldn’t start until a few more days, so Gladion had time to get around and adjust to the new life, living alone with a Fable. Gladion took a quick look around, and saw that the two guys from earlier hurried behind a wall, which made him roll his eyes and lightly shake his head. He nodded for Luna to get going, as he wanted to shake the two off their tail, or if needed, into a back alley, so Luna could go full out to attack if she felt it was necessary. Luna tagged along, and as they kept going, there was a cop walking by them.

As they passed him, the two following behind stopped and turned to walk a different street. Gladion and Luna kept on walking, and found an entrance to a park, walking in there to shake them off for good. Stopping for a little, looking at the entrance to the park, they could see the two run past the gate in a hurry, cursing and muttering that they lost them, and a potentially rare Fae. The two kept cursing and muttering until they disappear into the distance, which made Gladion sigh softly in relief, feeling bad for Luna, who probably got a real scare.

He kneeled down to her, and started to adjust the collar. «You okay?» he asked her.

«I’m fine. It’s not the first time i have been spooked.» she replied, followed by a soft giggle.

«If you say so.» he muttered.

«We found at least the college grounds and it didn’t seem it would take to long to walk there either.» she said, closing her eyes as he gently scratched her neck, starting to murr softly.

«It should take around 15 minutes at most. Depending if there will be snow or not when it’s winter here.» he said, fluffing up her neck fur.

He stopped fluffing her fur up and got up on his feet again and looked around a little, starting to walk off. She shook her body and quickly followed after him. Dragging out the time to the fullest, they kept walking around there. Luna were looking everywhere, exploring the new surroundings to the fullest. Gladion just kept an eye on her while looking around a little himself. While he kept an eye on her, she seemed quite relaxed while exploring, like she had already forgotten the events earlier. Considering that the is a Fable, she probably have had her fair share of spooks when living in the wild. The more he looked at her, the more he started to wonder what she actually were. She looked like a fox, but her size were to big for that, though, it might be because she’s the first wild one he had seen.

_ Shouldn’t a fox-like Fable have more than one tail...? _

He became so lost in thought that he didn’t notice that Luna had walked up to his side, and were walking with him around, being quite done exploring. He looked rather scary while thinking, which made Luna wonder what he were thinking about.

«What’s on your mind?» she asked.

He flinched as she snapped him out of it, making him stop and look down at her. «What…?» he muttered.

She tilted her head. «What’s on your mind? You were looking rather scary.»

«Nothing is going on.» he flatly replied to her.

«It can’t be nothing, as you usually don’t make a scary looking face like that.» she added.

He rolled his eyes. «And how can you tell that?» he asked her, looking down at her from the corner of his eyes.

«I have been...observing. I do need to get to know my human after all.» she replied, lifting her head up in a proud manner.

He sighed and shaked his head. «Right...» he muttered. «For starters...What are you?»

«Kyuubi~.» she proudly replied, puffing her chest up.

«That’s a dead Fable species. What are you really?» he repeated to her.

«Kyuubi.» she repeated.

He just sighed and shaked his head. «You can’t be a Kyuubi. Like i said, it’s a dead Fable species...and you lack tails.»

«I. Am. A. Kyuubi! Just because you humans don’t see them often doesn't mean my kind is dead!» she hissed.

«Prove it.» he challenged her.

«Huh…? Prove what?» she asked in confusion, tilting her head.

«Prove that you are a Kyuubi.»

She muttered to herself a little. «I’ll do it later...Can’t do it here out in public...» she muttered to him.

«What am i suppose to expect?» he asked, not believing in her.

«More tails...» she muttered as a reply to him.

He just nodded, not believing her before she actually delivers. «Alright. Can’t wait.»

Being more or less done with that conversation, Luna were slightly grumpy that he didn’t believe her, thinking that she were a mere Kitsune. She wasn’t happy with that, as a Kitsune were quite often used as a negative racial slur towards the more rare Kyuubi species, which was also why a Kyuubi’s were rare and kept themselves hidden from, mostly, everyone. Walking back to the entrance to the park, they headed the way they came from, walking by the college grounds again, getting a better look a the entrance there, as well as some of the buildings. Luckily they didn’t meet up with the two from earlier again, as they had probably stopped looking, or found someone else to start a commotion with. They got back to the complex and up to the apartment. Luna placed herself on the couch, while Gladion decided to get himself something to eat. As he were making something to eat, the room suddenly started to get dark, despite it being the middle of the day, and the windows definitely weren’t covered up, or about to get covered up.

He placed the butterknife on the counter and turned around, thinking that there would be something else, only to be met with the sight of Luna, who had moved to the middle of the floor, and were looking rather dark, and were slightly emitting a faint glow.

«What are you...» he started, only to stop and see more tails appear from her. «...doing…?» he finished, muttering it.

Her eyes were glowing as she looked over at him. «Believe me now?» she asked, her voice giving off a light reverbrance as she spoke.

He didn’t know how to reply to that and just nodded. «Uhuh...»

She sat down, her tails still very much visible, though, the quite terrifying aura she emitted died down, and the light glow slowly faded from her as well. In the end, the room looked rather normal, and she were, somewhat, normal. The only difference now were that she had nine tails behind her, gently laying around her. Gladion just kept his eyes on her, being slightly terrified, but did his best to mask it.

«Scared?» she asked, tilting her head. «You did ask me to show you after all.»

«More...shocked and surprised.» he muttered, his voice stammering slightly.

She gave a soft chuckle. «Don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you.»

«Yeah...You better not though.» he muttered.

She put her tails away, making it look like they went up in dust, leaving behind one. She knew that he would be somewhat scared of her for a while, so she kept her distance for the rest of the day and evening, letting him take his time to get used to the thought of her being a Kyuubi. She kept herself on the couch, snoozing while having an open eye at him, making sure that she wasn’t making him to uncomfortable. Gladion kept his distance until the evening, when he had calmed down from the sight he had seen, and walked up to her. She had fallen asleep, so she didn’t notice him call for her. He gently placed his hand on her head, which made her flinch awake, scaring him as well. She looked up at him in surprised, which he just did the same down at her, not sure how to react.

«I’m sorry...i were sleeping...» she quickly muttered softly.

He sighed in relief. «That’s fine...Gesus...»

Calming down after the scare, he asked if she were hungry, as she hadn’t been eating since lunch, and been sleeping most of the time after she did show him her tails. She were surprised that he asked, but nodded, giving a soft whine. He handed her a sandwich that he knew she liked, and she happily took it, her tail wagging in excitement as she chewed on it.

«Sorry for being...distant...» he told her, not wanting to admit that he actually got scared of her, but after thinking it through for a while, he figured that his own mother, Lusamine, actually were scarier than her.

«That’s…fine...Totally…understandable....» she muttered between her chews.

Gladion watched her finish the food, looking quite content up at him while she were licking around her muzzle. «Dog.» he told her and headed towards the bedroom, thinking about going to sleep for the night.

She gave something that could be interpreted as a gasping sound, and looked at him with a slight distressed look. «I’m not a dog! I’m a Kyuubi!» she barked at him.

«Same thing.» he replied, getting out of her sight. She couldn’t see the smirk he had on his face.

«Noo!!» she barked, starting to jump on her spot on the couch. «I’m a Kyuubi!!!» She just heard him laugh, which made her scoff, giving off something that looked like a pout.

«You not going to sleep?» he asked, knowing fully well that she would get grumpy if she happened to get locked out.

She jumped off the couch and walked over to the bedroom, passing him while looking grumpy. She jumped up onto the bed and Gladion closed the door before getting over, and in under the duvet. Sitting in the bed, he noticed that she had her back towards him and her ears were laying somewhat flat behind her. He just gave a soft chuckle, knowing that she were grumpy because he called her a dog, just to tease her. Luna eventually laid down and fell asleep. Gladion were checking a few things on his phone before he put it away, getting under the covers more, slowly drifting off.


	8. First day at College

The last week passed quickly, and Gladion had finally gotten completely over the fact that Luna were a Kyuubi, and from the sight of her channeling all her tails, which was rather terrifying. The other day Gladion had left to pick up the supposed uniform that he had to wear, and wasn’t very pleased with that surprise. Luna didn’t know what the fuss was about when he got it on, growling lightly for every piece he put on. She didn’t say anything, just thinking that humans are weird. He also kept muttering that he hated uniforms, mostly because of Aether paradise, where everything were white, and the uniforms just hideous in his opinion. 

He got ready, grabbed the bag he would be using as well as his phone and keys to the apartment. Luna tagged along, not sure how the first day would be, but were quite excited. A new place, new people and new Fae’s. Gladion clearly were not excited to get back in school, but it was needed as well as expected of him. Getting out of the apartment, they got into the elevator and down to the main lobby. Luna jumped out of the elevator, seeing out of of the glass doors to the complex. There was several others with the same uniform as Gladion, which made Luna excited.

«Calm down.» Gladion told her, placing his hand on her head.

«I can’t help it.» she replied excitedly.

He gave her a light pat on her head and started to walk to the front, opening the door. Luna hurried after him and stepped outside, looking around at the other students, walking with their Fae’s and other students. Gladion just went off, heading towards the college grounds, to which she quickly ran after him, staying close until they got there. She was so surprised, as she had never seen so many humans at the same time, much less, in the same area. Gladion continued into the grounds, but Luna stood behind the wall, looking inside. There were so many people that she started to feel uneasy, nervously looking around the place. Gladion stopped and turned around, looking at her.

«Come on. We’ll be late.» he told her, putting his hands in the pockets of the jacket.

«B-b-b-but….h-h-h-humans...» she stuttered nervously.

«Come on, Luna. They won’t do anything. Just stay close to me, and you’ll be fine.»

She swallowed thickly and slowly started to walk towards him, only to get spooked by a loud crash from somewhere at the college grounds, making her jump and run over to him, trying to hide herself behind his legs while looking around, trying to figure out where the sound came from. Gladion just sighed and started to walk off, while Luna kept herself close for the rest of the time. Getting inside, Gladion were told to head over to the Great Hall, were there would be a speech to welcome new students, as well as information about what probably would happen that year. Gladion noticed that he probably would be the tallest among his fellow classmates, as well as Luna were one of the smaller Fae’s around, were most of them were humanoid.

«Gladion…?» she called, looking up at him as they found their way to the Great Hall.

He hummed softly. «Yeah?»

«Should i turn humanoid?» she asked.

He looked down at her in surprise, not sure why she would ask something like that. «Why asking that?»

Luna looked around a little more before up at him again. «Because it looks like i’m the only one who is not...» she muttered.

«You are fine just the way you are.» he replied, not thinking to much about it. «You do what you want though. If you want to turn humanoid, then i can’t stop you.» he added.

They got to the Great Hall and entered, getting told that the new students were sitting in the front, so they should find a seat and wait until everything started. Gladion walked around and took a seat at the end of a row, close to the wall, not wanting Luna to get uncomfortable by being surrounded by a lot of people, already knowing that she were quite nervous, which was to be expected from her, being a Fable. Luna sat down beside him, shivering from being so nervous, despite being so excited earlier. There was a lot of chatter in the room, which made it quite noisy and unbearable. Luna were pressing herself up to him, shivering violently while looking around the place. In an attempt to soothe her and calm her down, he just gently placed his and over her, gently petting her.

«You’ll be fine.» he muttered softly to her, feeling how much she were shaking. She just nodded lightly.

Most of the students were in and had taken a seat, and some of the teachers and one who looked like it could be the principal were on the stage at the front, talking and getting ready to welcome new and old students back. Before anything started, one of the teachers called for everyone’s attention and told them to take a seat and to be quiet, as they were to start shortly. The ones that haven’t take a seat yet found one in a hurry and the hall got quiet. Gladion kept his hand on Luna as a reassurance that she would be fine as one male teacher got up to the microphone, starting by welcoming everyone back, as well as welcoming the new additions for the coming years. He told them all that the day would mostly be for the new students, as they would have a tour around the grounds and get to know their fellow classmates once they had gotten their homeroom teacher. Once he finished, he let the principal have the word. He didn’t say much, other than a few basic instructions and welcoming everyone back before he dismissed everyone, telling them that the new students would be staying behind, as they would be split up into their classes and meet their homeroom teacher.

The older students left the hall, and the principal told the new ones that he’ll read them up in the alphabetic order, by their last name. Gladion facepalmed, already knowing that he would be the first to be called up. Luna didn’t catch much of anything, being busy being somewhat scared. He pointed out the two teachers in the back, and told them all that when he started to read up their names, they would have to get up and walk over to that teacher. The teachers gave everyone a small wave before the principal started to read up their last names. As Gladion already knew, he was the first one to be called. Everyone looked over at him as he got up from the chair and started to head to his assigned teacher. Luna were hesitant to get up, but followed after him quickly, not wanting to be left behind. The people who saw her being nervous laughed at her, which Gladion noticed and didn’t like, but they didn’t know that she were a Fable, and wasn’t used to being around a lot of people like this. He shook hands with his homeroom teacher, telling him his name and where he was from. The teacher noticed that his Fae, Luna, were rather nervous and kept herself quite close to him.

«She’s not used to big masses of people. She’ll hopefully get over it eventually.» Gladion told him.

«I see. A first for everyone at some point. I’m sure she’ll be fine. What’s her name, if i may ask?» he asked.

He looked down at her, seeing that she wouldn’t be able to answer anything. «Her name is Luna.»

«Ah, that’s a pretty name.» he replied to him, nodding. «Seems like you are the only one with a feral Fae. That shouldn’t be any problem though.» he added, smiling warmly at him.

The conversation were cut short as more and more of the new students appeared, alongside their Fae’s. Gladion took a few steps back, where Luna followed him closely. He kneeled down to her. «Are you okay? You seem like you are about to freak out any second.»

She swallowed thickly. «I-i-i’ll be fine...» she stuttered.

«You sure?» he asked her gently. She just nodded, looking around with big eyes. «You can run back to the complex if you want to. The guy behind the desk could probably lock you into the apartment...»

«No! No...I’m fine...I’m fine...» she muttered, shaking her head vigorously.

He hummed softly. «If you say so. Just...Don’t hesitate to tell me if it get to much, okay?» Luna just nodded at him. Before he got up on his feet again, he gave her a few pats on her head to reassure her that it all would be fine.

As the other classmates of his appeared and noticed that he were calming down his Fae, they just chuckled lightly, finding it rather ridiculous that the Fae wasn’t used to people, as well as their Fae’s were lightly giggling or chuckling at the sight. Luna noticed and apologized to him for being an embarrassment, he just told her that she wasn’t. Once everyone had met their homeroom teacher, he told them to follow him to the classroom they would be using. Everyone followed, while Gladion waited for a few seconds, not wanting to be a part of the massive group since Luna were close to freak out. Walking down the corridors, they eventually got to the classroom, and were told to find a seat. Gladion quickly took a seat at the back and in the corner, keeping Luna out of the unnecessary situation of sitting in the middle of everyone. As he sat down on the chair, Luna crawled under the desk, sitting between his feet, trying her best to hide as much as possible. The other Fae’s and classmates kept chuckling lightly as they found their seats, finding it hilarious that a Fae were so nervous.

After a while, Luna laid down to the floor, keeping her head on his foot as it made her feel more secure as she fell asleep, getting exhausted from being so nervous and scared. Most of the other Fae’s were humanoid and were sitting beside their owners, as well as a few Ariels, a smaller type of a humanoid Fae that were mistaken as fairies in the past. They are rather the small and mischievous Fae’s. They were just flying around the classroom, playing with each other silently as the homeroom teacher kept talking and giving out basic info and instructions. They got a few textbooks from the teacher, but the rest they had to buy themselves, either new or used. Most of the books that he needed to get were about Fae’s and Fables, the difference between them, a few different fighting types and a few books explaining the history of Fae’s and how they came from Fables. Gladion looked down at Luna, as he fully knew that she were a Fable, and could probably answer a lot of the Fable related questions in the future. They sat in the classroom for a while before the teacher told them that he would show them around before he’ll let them leave for the day.

He leaned down and poked her a couple of times. «Luna...We are leaving.» he muttered softly to her.

She slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head, looking quite exhausted. «Were are we going…?» she muttered.

«Just taking a look around the place, then we’ll be heading home.» he replied, watching the others walk out of the classroom.

She nodded and got up and away from under the desk and chair, stretching herself as he got up from the chair, grabbing the bag and started to follow the group. Luna looked around a little, but after the long nap, she wasn’t feeling as nervous or scared anymore as the tagged alongside him. They started with the front gate at the place, and took the tour around, showing the different buildings and the teacher gave a short description of what would be happening in there, as well as showing them the battlefield for whenever there would be some battle training for whoever that wanted that, as well as a few classes and demonstrations would be held there. While walking around, as couple of the other Fae’s were starting to pick on Luna, especially the Ariels, as they were small and could fly off in a hurry. Luna did her best to ignore them, not paying any attention to them as she knew they were the mischievous and playful ones. Some of the other humanoid Fae’s were just talking, quite loudly about her on how dumb she was for being scared, and staying so close to her human, as well as they mentioned that Gladion probably didn’t like it, but didn’t say anything out of politeness.

It got to her, making her really upset and starting to rethink her choice and offer that she offered Gladion weeks ago, before they left Alola. Walking around the ground, with the Fae’s picking on her, she got more and more upset about it, even thinking about just running away right there and then, but then again, she had never been living comfortable as she had been doing the past few weeks. She had something she could call a home, even for a short while and she certainly didn’t want to let that slide to quickly. Without anyone of the others noticing, she used some of her magic to put out a small protection barrier around her, that only the Ariels could feel, as they couldn’t bump into her anymore, which made them quite upset and pouty. She kept the barrier up around herself as they walked around the college grounds, and the Ariels eventually stopped, as they couldn’t hit her anymore, which was not fun for them. Luna could still hear them talk about her though, which still hurt quite a lot. After a while, they all ended up at the front gate again, and the teacher dismissed them, telling them that he were excited to see them again tomorrow and to get to know them. Everyone started to leave, and Gladion then just noticed that Luna had been rather quiet, a bit to quiet for his liking, as well as she were looking a bit down. Getting back to the complex and up to the apartment, Luna got over to the windows, laying down in the corner there and became even more silent. He didn’t want to bother her, thinking that it was just her way to calm down after feeling quite panicky most of the day, so he decided to just give her some space for the rest of the day.

While he started to search for places to get the remaining books that he needed, Luna were quite busy in her mind. Looking around the city, thinking if she either were clever, just wanted to try out being a ‘pet’, to an extent, or that it was just her wanting to see the world more. She didn’t even know herself what the main thought behind her giving him the offer of her being his Fae at the time. She kept using the excuse that she just wanted to see more of the world, which was something he did believe in, but in truth, there was something else, and she just didn’t know what that was yet, but her gut feeling kept telling her that it was close or were getting closer to find out.

_ Maybe i just wanted to see the world…? Or am i fooling myself…? _

She looked over at Gladion, who were busy writing down things he needed onto a notepad, using his phone to get visuals of what the books were looking like before heading out to get them later that day. She turned her gaze out of the windows again, having quite the uneasy feeling as well as slowly getting upset, letting the things the other Fae’s said getting to her again.


	9. Getting picked On

Gladion kept noting down stuff he needed and planned to get before the day were over, getting it over with before it would be too late to get anything. Getting done with writing down a list of things and book needed, he put the pen down on the counter, and looked over at Luna, who were still laying the corner, looking rather upset. She had been unusually quiet, as she would be quite energetic, but after being on the edge of panic, she thought it was just her way to calm down, and that she was exhausted after it all.

«You tagging along?» he asked as he got stood up.

Luna turned her head towards him. «To where?»

«Need to get the stuff they told me to, and i’d rather get it now than wait until most of it is, prossibly, gone.» he replied, waving the note in his hand.

She got up on her feet, shaked herself a little and walked over to him. «You want me to tag along?» she asked, her voice sounding somewhat shaky and upset.

Gladion just looked dumbfounded down at her. «I wouldn’t have asked if i didn’t want to...» he replied and kneeled down to her. «Are you upset? Why?»

She shaked her head. «I’m fine. Just...exhausted.» she muttered softly. She didn’t want to tell him that she were feeling upset about earlier, from what the other Fae’s were saying about her.

«If you say so.» he replied to her. «Tagging along then?» he repeated the question. Luna nodded, wagging her tail slightly.

He got up on his feet again, and got his bag and keys to the apartment and started to head out. Luna tagged alongside him closely, trying to look like her usual happy self, but it was hard, as what the Fae’s had been muttering about her had gotten to her a little to deep than she expected. They got out of the building and started to wander down the street, towards the shopping district and looking for a bookstore, where he could get the remaining books that were needed. Gladion knew something else had to have happened for her to be as quiet as she was, as she would be, more or less, everywhere and look around, being curious about everything. She wasn’t, and kept herself close to him at all times, just turning her attention around if something caught her eye, but other than that, she didn’t wander off.

They found a store, and Luna sat outside as Fae’s weren’t allowed inside the place. Gladion got inside the store and found what he was looking for after a while, which ended up with a lot of books. He wasn’t to happy about it, but he had at least dragged his bag with him, so he didn’t need to carry them on hand, which would have been a pain. Luna were sitting outside, just looking at the people who were walking in and out of the store. Most of them were fellow students from the college, but no one she could recognize from his class. The Fae’s that were waiting outside kept their distance to each other, and Luna didn’t really know why. They were all having a human owner, so she didn’t understand the mentality of keeping to themselves and not talk among the others and share things, which was something she were used to, by being a Fable. She shrugged it off, thinking that it probably was something that human owned Fae’s did, and that was normal. She politely sat there, feeling very much out of place while watching the humanoid Fae’s walk around, and people giving her weird looks, as she was a rare sight, being a feral one. Gladion got out of the store eventually, looking quite annoyed as his bag were quite heavy, and he didn’t like it. Giving a nod towards Luna, she got up on her feet, hurrying after him.

«Did you get what you were looking for?» she asked him.

«Yeah. More or less at least.» he muttered.

Not wanting to drag the books around the whole shopping district, they returned to the apartment to get them off, as well as for Gladion to get out of the uniform, as he still had it on, despite him hating it. Luna gave a soft giggle as he growled lightly on the way back, the bag of his being quite heavy from the textbooks. He just kept thinking that he didn’t need to drag everyone of them with him everyday, which was a relief in itself. Getting back to the apartment, Luna placed herself in the chair placed beside the couch, still looking rather upset and uncomfortable. She didn’t say much, and without noticing she started to whine lightly, sounding rather upset. Gladion had put the bag and the books on the counter before changing into something casual when he heard the soft whines, getting out into the living room again, seeing her quite upset. He kept thinking it was because of earlier and didn’t really ask her more about it, not wanting to make her more upset for the rest of the day and evening.

**\----------**

The next day went a little better, and Luna were herself again, more or less. She were more cautious and careful, other than that, she kept a joyous attitude. It made Gladion relax that she were herself again, and did understand her being cautious after her panic the previous day. Sitting in the classroom, just listening to the teacher go on about what he would be teaching and that he hope that everyone will get along. Gladion kept a close eye on Luna, who were laying on the floor beside the desk, snoozing lightly. The Ariels were still flying around the room, doing whatever they wanted, while the other humanoid Fae’s were sitting close to their owners, being rather disrespectful and mean to others around them. By looking at the other Fae’s that were disrespectful, Gladion felt relieved that Luna were just snoozing and not paying attention to the other things happening.

The teacher didn’t really get through to anyone, which were quite frustrating for him, Gladion could tell when the guy sighed and gave up saying anything, just turning around to the whiteboard and started to write down a few basic rules he wanted for the year. As the teacher had his back against his class, flyers were sent out. It was about a party for the newcomers and for them to get to know each other, and just generally hang out for the evening and night. Not really planning to do anything of that kind, he might as well, trying to get some acquaintances that were less annoying than Hau and Lillie combined. Reading more on the notice, Fae’s were allowed, but had to be close to their owner and not provoke other Fae’s, as a fight would be a disaster and could lead to people getting expelled. Gladion cerantily didn’t have time for that, as well as he knew Luna wouldn’t be one to pick a fight, she was to sweet for that. He looked down at her again as she uncurled and stretched herself, and kept laying on her side. Someone had noticed that she were laying on her side, and her tail were laying straight out, unprotected. So on purpose, the guy shifted his position and put one leg of the chair on top the tip of her tail, and sat down. She yelped loudly in pain, making the entire classroom flinch and look over to were the sound came from. Luna hurried under the desk to Gladion, tears clearly appearing in her eyes because of the pain.

«Sorry...Didn’t see your Fae’s tail there...» the guy in front of him said, giving him an apologetic smile.

«That’s fine...» he muttered and looked under at her, looking quite distressed and in pain as the tip of her tail kept twitching in pain. «...i guess.» he added silently, pretty sure that it wasn’t by accident.

Luna looked up at him with tears in her eyes. «My tail...» whimpered.

The others were lightly giggling, as well as their Fae’s were giggling lightly. Gladion sighed softly as she sat down in between his legs, gently wrapping her tail around his leg, laying the rest of it on his lap. He gently placed his hand on it, and gently stroke it as a way to soothe the pain a little for her. He were sure it wouldn’t help, but it was what he could do at the time. It dawned him on how soft her tail was, despite the rest of her fur being a little rougher. Her tail were feeling just like silk, and he just couldn’t stop running his hand over it gently for the rest of the class, while she were silently whining for being in pain. The class ended, as well as the day after meeting more teachers and them talking about their subject for a while. On the way back to the apartment, Gladion mentioned that he probably would take a look at the ‘greet and meet’ party later that evening. Luna nodded, and told him that she would just stay at home, not wanting to leave as her tail were still very much in pain, and didn’t want to make it more painful.

«Should i get something for the pain?» he asked.

«I’ll be fine...I’ll just need to let my tail rest and not move it as much.» she muttered.

«You don’t really move that tail of yours a lot though.» he added, giving a soft chuckle.

«I know...but it takes some strength to keep it up from the ground, you know.» she replied, scoffing at him as he chuckled.

«Right.» he added, just shaking his head a little.

Getting into the complex, taking the elevator up to their floor, and heading over to their apartment and in. Gladion went to take a shower, while Luna placed herself in the corner of the place, looking out of the windows while concentrating to keep her tail still. Gladion finished, got into something casual and got out to the living room, finding her in the corner like yesterday. He noticed that she were looking around outside, so he didn’t bother to much, but kept an eye on her as he went to make something to eat. Luna perked up when the caught a whiff of the smell, but didn’t get up as she didn’t want to seem interested, even though, she clearly was and Gladion knew from the way her ears perked up and as she kept them up. Gladion just chuckled silently while making something simple to eat, as he didn’t want anything heavy before the party this evening.

«Do you want some?» he asked, just to see what she did.

Luna perked up her hears more and looked over at him. «May i have some…?» she asked.

«If you want.» he flatly replied to her. She nodded and got up, walking over to him. She sat down beside him, watching him as he continued making something, as he wasn’t fully done with it yet.

After he finished it, he put a portion of it in a bowl for her, and on a plate him, warning her that it might be quite hot still, for her not to burn her tongue, which she did anyway, making a grimace while muttering that it was hot. Gladion laughed softly.

«Told you so.» he said, chuckling lightly. She just gave off a light growl at him, which just made him chuckle more at her.

Gladion waited until the food were edible, while Luna had to wait until her tongue were feeling less sore before starting to eat again. She took her time while Gladion finished and watched her finish it, which was somewhat fascinating for him to watch. Once she finished, he took the bowl and placed it with his place in the sink for later, as for now, he just wanted to relax until leaving for the ‘meet and greet’ party, which he wasn’t to excited for, but needed to see if there was someone who were, somewhat, alright to hang around, and that wouldn’t hurt Luna whenever he wasn’t looking. Getting over to the couch, he got the TV remote and started to skip through channels. Luna hesitated to get over, but eventually did, and sat down beside him on the floor, tilting her head whenever there was something that caught her attention or if there was a high pitch sound coming from the TV. Gladion saw it in the corner of his eyes and just smiled softly, finding it cute and started to predict whenever she would do it. It came to the point that he predicted it every time and ended up laughing because of it, which made Luna confused.

«What?» she asked, looking utterly confused at him.

«Nothing...I just thought of something funny.» he replied, looking at her, only to see her confused look, which made him laugh even more.

She didn’t know what would be so funny, after all, she haven’t been around him for that long to know what might have been funny in the past. She just narrowed her eyes at him before laying down, which made him stop laughing and continued to switch channels, ending up on some documentary of some strange animal. Sitting there, watching it until he decided to leave for the party, asking Luna a final time if she would tag along or not. She declined again and got herself comfortable on the floor again, watching him leave the apartment. When he left, she heard him walk down the corridor over to the elevator, and the feeling of lonely struck her. It had been a while since she had felt that, but it wasn’t anything new either, being quite used to it. She laid down and closed her eyes, giving off a soft sigh as she snoozed off.


	10. Drunk Talk

Gladion got out of the complex and started to head towards the college grounds, as it was around there the party were being held. He kept an eye out for other fellow classmates, making sure he actually went the right way without looking like an idiot. He found someone who were talking about the party and knew where it was going to be, so he just followed after them, but kept his distance from them. Getting over to the venue, he walked in and grabbed a cup, and took a sip, which ended up being beer. He grimaced a little, not being used to the bitter taste of the brown liquid, but kept it on hand. The venue were full of people, both old and new students, alongside with their Fae’s. He found himself a corner and kept an eye on people, at least until a few people, already quite tipsy, came over and started to drag him with them, which he for sure didn’t want and protested to the best of his ability, which had no effect.

A few hours had passed since Gladion had now left and Luna had been awake for a little while, and increasingly got more and more worried, knowing fully well that he would be the grumpiest person around if he didn’t get enough sleep. She kept pacing around the living room for a while until she decided to go and look for him. She looked at herself a little and realized that it would be better to get around if she were in her humanoid form. She placed herself in the middle of the living room and took a deep breath, starting to focus on herself as she closed her eyes, concentrating. A faint glow started to emit from her, and she slowly grew, slowly taking the shape of a humanoid being. Her fur moved up to her head, becoming long hair that reaches down to under her bottom. She were still sporting the ears and a tail, as well as her feet were still paws, but were standing up on two, like a human.

She opened her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting it out with a soft huff as she looked around the place, from a higher perspective. She looked down at her hands, moving her fingers a little. «It’s been a while i have been in this body...But it’s strangely comfortable...» she muttered to herself.

She muttered a few words while a pair of pants appeared on her, as well as a bandage got wrapped around her bust, keeping her ‘decent’ as humans would have said it. She walked around a little to get used to it, as it had been years since the last time she were in this form. Once she figured she had the hang of it, she left the apartment, locking the door with a swift hand movement as she left. She took the elevator down and got to the front desk, walking past the man that were keeping a watch on the monitors. As the man saw her, his jaw dropped, following her as she left and turned to walk down the street.

«Shit...Who was that?» the man muttered as she got out of his sight.

Luna continued down the dark street, passing people who got surprised by her looks. She didn’t pay any attention to them, knowing fully well that they couldn’t do anything to her, as if they did, she would most likely attack. Even humanoid Fae’s that were passing her were gawking over her as she passed them, some even pointed out the faint glow that came from her eyes. She got down the street and over to the college ground, listening to where the party potentially could be, and quickly found it by the loud music in the distance, as well as a lot of loud shouting and cheering. She sighed softly and walked towards the music, finding the venue that were used. She cringed a little because of the loud music, but in order to, hopefully, find Gladion, she had to get in there. She took a deep breath and walked over, seeing both people and Fae’s being drunk. Seeing Fae’s drunk made her quite disappointed, knowing that they were in the same ‘class’ as her, as well as Fae’s could easily die from alcohol. The people she passed eyed her down and kept muttering a few words and cat called her, to which she just rolled her eyes at, not giving even giving them a look. The way she walked were quite provoking for a lot of the males. Walking on her ‘toes’ made her sway her hips slightly more, as well as her tail weren’t doing any favor of hiding that fact.

She maneuvered herself around people to get inside, doing her best to cancel the music and the loud chatter at the place, focusing her senses to find Gladion. Walking around and getting through the crowd, she eventually found him sitting in a chair in a corner, looking rather tired and very drunk. He sighed and walked up to him.

«Gladion.» she called for him.

He looked up at her, had to double take it, narrowing his eyes in confusion at her. «Who...are you?» he asked, pointing at her and slurring his words.

«Luna.» she flatly replied to him, taking the cup out of his hand and placed it on the chair next to him. «You are very drunk...I can smell the alcohol...» she muttered, wrinkling her nose a little.

He shaked his head and cleared his throat. «You can’t be Luna...She’s a dog.» he said, swallowing thickly as he took a closer look at her. «You are to pretty even...»

She blushed, but knew he was drunk and just shaked it off like that. «Appreciate that...Anyway...The ‘dog’ of yours is lonely and wants you home before she starts to wreck the entire place of yours.» she said, slightly playing along.

He scoffed. «She what now?!» she exclaimed and shot up from the chair, losing his balance as he did. Luna grabbed him quickly, helping him to regain his balance.

«Yeah...» she muttered. «Let’s get home before anything else happens...» she added, and got his arm around on her shoulder, keeping him steady as they got out of the venue. 

He were quite unsteady on his feet, but despite her petite size, she managed to keep him on his feet as they got out to the street, heading home. He kept muttering that he would have a serious talk with his ‘dog’, to which Luna just nodded and agreed with him, not wanting to get him more agitated about it. He also kept looking at her with narrow and confused eyes, which made her a little uncomfortable, at least until he mentioned that she looked familiar for some reason.

«Do i?» she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

«Yeah...It’s been years though...» he started, clearing his throat. «I was just a little kid at the time, but i remember it so clearly.» he added.

«Tell me about it.» she told him, as it seemed that it made him happy.

«Oh, I will.» he said. «I, of all people.» he started. «Were in Kalos on a vacation with my family. Mom, Dad...Lillie were there.» he said, looking down at her, nodding. «But there was this one night...I remember it so clearly! It’s like it happened yesterday!» he exclaimed.

«Please tell me.» she told him, having a faint smile on her face, as he sounded very passionate about it.

«I had gotten to sleep, but woke up later at some time i can’t remember...and i heard some noises i guess…? I don’t know, i heard something.» he said, gesturing with his only free hand. «The noises came from the window, so i got out of bed, walked over and quickly...swoosh!...pulled the curtains away.» he added before a yawn escaped him.

«And what happened then?»

«In the reflection...on the window...were a little girl. I remember her clarealy!» he said, pointing at her. She just nodded and hummed softly. «She had ears like yours, but she had more tails than you at least...» he stopped, starting to count how many he round remember seeing. «1...5…9! She had nine tails that were looking like small fluffy balls that were glued on her butt.» he exclaimed at her.

Luna kept nodding as he kept on going with the story, all the way until they got to the complex and up to the apartment. Standing outside the front door, she made a swift hand movement, as she didn’t want to dig in his pocket for the key. With the swift movement, a clicking sound were heard and she opened the door, to which Gladion were quite impressed by. She just lightly shaked her head, helping him in, and over to the bedroom, placing him on the edge of it, as he started to sink to the floor, getting heavier the closer she got to the bed. Dumping his ass on the edge of the bed, she unwrapped his arm from her shoulder, and placed her hands on his, holding him up while making eye contact with him.

«Can you please get out of your clothes while i close and lock the front door?» she asked him.

He nodded and groaned. «Alright...» he muttered, hanging his head a little.

«Thank you.» she replied calmly to him, letting go of his shoulders and started to walk off.

«Are you going to join me in bed later?» he abruptly asked her.

She froze on the spot, and looked over her shoulder, seeing him giving her a small pout and some puppy eyes. «Of course...Just go to bed first. I’ll join shortly.» she replied and left the room, blushing slightly.

As she left the room, she could hear him give off a small cheer. «Yes~!»

She didn’t know why, but then again, it had to be the alcohol doing the talking and he would probably not remember anything of what he told her this night. She got over to the front door, closed and locked it before going over to the kitchen area, finding a glass and pours some water into it, knowing that he would probably need it in the morning. Hearing him in the distance struggle to get out of his clothes made her sigh softly in disbelief. She had seen her fair share of drunk people, but had never interacted with any, so it was a little scary, but she kept her calm. With the glass of water in hand, she got over to the bedroom again, finding him under the duvet, sitting in the bed and his clothes just tossed to the floor. She wasn’t his maid, so she definitely didn’t want to pick up his clothes, but she did it anyway, being nice, and put them on the chair beside a drawer on the side he usually slept on. Luna placed the glass of water on the nightstand. He muttered a thank you to her and again asked if she were to join him in the bed now, and started to sulk a little, whining that he didn’t want to sleep alone, giving her a pout.

«I’m joining...» she muttered softly, hesitating to get over to the other side. She stood there, getting quite uncomfortable as he kept looking at her.

«What? I’m not going to hurt you or anything of the sorts.» he told her, looking slightly disappointed that she were hesitating.

She knew that she would get back to her feral shape after he had fallen asleep, so she needed to strip off her clothes completely. «Look away...» she muttered, blushing.

«Oh! RIght...» he said and turned his head around, holding a hand over his eyes. «I’m usually a gentleman! Gotta keep that image intact!» he added.

She shaked her head, and hesitated greatly, but got out of the clothes and hurried under the duvet. «Right...I’m in...now lay down and sleep.» she lightly hissed.

He held his hands up in defeat and dropped his weight back, his head hitting the pillow. He muttered that he were now laying down and she hummed softly in response, getting more under the duvet, turning her back at him, hoping that he would fall asleep quickly and let her change back to her feral form. As she somewhat got comfortable, he turned toward her and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close, burying his face in her shoulder.

He sighed softly, inhaling a little. «You smell really good…~» he murmured.

Luna tensed up as he wrapped his arm around her, even more so when he muttered that she were smelling good. She were starting to panic, but before doing so, she looked over her shoulder, seeing him already sound asleep. She sighed deeply and let herself relax a little. Looking at his sleeping face made her hope that he didn’t remember her humanoid form the next day, as that would be a disaster, as well as him, hopefully, thinking that that was just a dream. Looking at him for a few minutes while sleeping, he looked quite peaceful, and not so serious as he usually would. She smiled softly and scooted out of his grip.

_ Sweet dreams... _


	11. Day at Home

Gladion woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, groaning as he moved from his side to laying on his back, running his hands over his face in an attempt to wake up. With his hands on his head, he looked up at the ceiling while giving off a loud sigh. He kept looking up at the ceiling for a while before looking to his side, seeing Luna curled up, in her feral form, still sound asleep. He gently put his hand on her, stroking over her back a little, which made her lightly flinch awake. She uncurled and stretched, laying on her side while giving off a soft sigh. She moved her head up, looking at him while he still had a hand on his face, now covering his eyes.

«Are you okay?» she asked softly.

«Still alive...» he groaned.

She shifted her position and moved up to him. «You sure you are okay?»

«It’s just a hangover...I’ll survive.» he muttered.

Luna just kept looking at him with a worried expression. It was still pretty early, so he had some time to gather himself for when classes were about to start. Laying in the bed a little more, a message came through on his phone. Looking over to the nightstand, he saw the glass of water and were rather confused, as he certainly didn’t remember getting one the last night, as well as his phone were nowhere to be seen. He sat up, groaning and leaned over to the chair with his clothes on, finding his pants and dug through the pockets until he found it, taking a quick look at the screen. A message from an unknown number, which he got even more confused by. Luna tilted her head, wondering why he were just staring at his phone. He sighed and unlocked it, opening the text and took a good look at it. He had to read through the message a couple of times, but didn’t really get it either.

_ Hello. _

_ This is just to inform you that classes are cancelled today as there have been someone vandalizing the buildings, and have done some great damage. We apologize for this inconvenience, but everything will be going as normal from tomorrow on. _

Gladion just put the phone down on, rubbing his face in disbelief, but slightly relieved as well, knowing that he had the day to recover. Luna just tilted her head, giving a soft but confused whine at her. Gladion looked up at her, just looking and trying to figure out how he actually got home, as he didn’t remember anything from the night. He sighed and hung his head a little before dropping back, hitting the pillow again. Luna scrawled up closer to him, nudging his arm slightly. As she did that, he moved his arm over to her, gently scratching lightly on her shoulder.

«Were i speaking nonsense?» he asked, muttering it.

She giggled softly. «Yes.»

He groaned loudly. «I’m sorry...Do i want to know what i said?»

«I don’t know. Do you?» she questioned him.

«Not really...» he muttered.

She giggled again. «Okay.»

She didn’t want to bring up something that would make him uncomfortable, as well as not mentioning that she picked him up that night, in her humanoid form. As long as he didn’t remember that, she were fine, feeling that it would get awkward, for her at least. Gladion kept laying around, gently scratching her while trying to recall anything from the previous night. He could recall leaving and getting to the venue, as well as getting dragged with someone and getting pressured to take shots, which he didn’t like. He didn’t remember much after that, other than a female voice, who were sounding quite similar to Luna’s, but he couldn’t remember the face. The voice were sounding more mature than Luna’s usually naive and childish natured one. He looked over at her, as she were looking quite content as he kept scratching her lightly.

He scratched her a little more before stopping, giving off a soft sigh. Luna asked if he were about to sleep some more, which he just nodded at, giving a soft hum in response, it being early and him still being quite hungover. Letting out another soft sigh he quickly drifted off to sleep again, while Luna were watching him as he did. She just crawled up more to him and curled up beside him, snoozing as well for the rest of the morning. After a few more hours of sleep, he and Luna were walking the streets. Luna had pestered him to get out and get some fresh air, as it might help clear his mind and get over the hangover quickly. He didn’t believe that at all, but tagged along, as he didn’t have any energy to keep listening to her whine and pestering him about it, as well as he could get some medicine for the headache.

Walking down the streets, he got into a store and got a bottle of water and some medicine for the headache, quickly gulping down a pill. They passed the college buildings and saw that there was a lot of damage been done, and people were cleaning and repairing whatever that needed to be fixed. Gladion just shaked his head, but hoped that he wasn’t one of them doing that, even some of it. Walking past the buildings, Gladion noticed that Luna were her usual self again, not being as silent as she had been for the two last days. Her tail were still twitching lightly, probably because of the remaining pain from the guy that sat on her with a chair yesterday. Wandering around for a little longer, Gladion couldn’t take it any longer, the headache getting worse, so they tagged back to the apartment again, spending most of the day there. As soon as the evening started to creep on, Gladion got a call from Lusamine, accompanied by Lillie. He didn’t want to talk to anyone, much less his own family. He got sat up in the couch and took the call, putting it on speaker as he didn’t want to hold the thing.

«Gladion speaking.» he muttered.

«Hello!» Lillie exclaimed. «It’s been a while! How are things? College treating you well? You being nice to Luna!?»

Gladion sighed softly. «All good, and college is alright so far. And yes, i’m treating Luna right.» he replied, looking at Luna who had her head in his lap, eyes closed while just listening.

«Good to know! Also, mother is around…» she started, and got interrupted by Lusamine, who started to ask whatever of questions.

Gladion just sighed, shaking his head a little while giving off a yawn. He replied as politely as he could, despite the headache getting back, since that had been gone for a while, only to start again. Luna’s ears twitched lightly, noticing that he wasn’t to happy with all the questions that came his way from his mother. They could also hear Lillie in the background groaning that it was her phone and that she was the one who wanted to talk to him. After a while, Lillie managed to push Lusamine out of the way and get her phone back.

«Sorry about that...Mother is very...enthusiastic.» Lillie muttered.

«I noticed...» he sighed. «So...What did you want?» he asked.

«I know it’s a while until then but...Are you coming home for Christmas?» she asked, her voice being very soft as she asked.

«I don’t know...Like you said, it’s a while until then.» he replied.

«I get that, i just wanted to ask. Anyway!...Anything you want for Christmas though?» she asked him, pretty sure that he would reply with the same thing as every year.

«Just some peace and quiet really. And that’s about it.» he replied.

Lillie were taken a little back, as she were sure that he would reply with just ‘leave him alone’, which would be the usual reply. «Really? So by that i guess you won’t come home for Christmas...» she said, looking over at Lusamine. «Since you and mother keep fighting whenever you see each other.»

Gladion gave a soft chuckle. «Yeah...It was...interesting.» he muttered.

He looked down at Luna, who were snoozing silently. He smiled softly while running his hand gently over her head. Lillie couldn’t see his smile, but from the silence she could notice that he were content for once.

«How’s Luna doing? Can she cope with you? Or are you being overbearing?» Lillie asked, trying to fish out something interesting.

«She’s fine. And i believe she can cope with me, as she haven’t complained yet.» he said as he continued to gently run his hand over her head.

«He’s calling me a dog!» she exclaimed loudly, making herself sound irritated.

His eyes grew wide, and Lillie snorted and started to laugh loudly. «I knew it!» Lillie exclaimed.

After she stopped laughing, she had a few more words with Gladion before she hung up. Gladion just looked down at Luna, who were still snoozing, but the fact that she told Lillie that he called her a dog once in a while. He sighed and she then gave a soft chuckle.

He looked down at her and narrowed his eyes. «Dog...» he hissed.

Her ears perked up and she looked up at him. «I’m not a dog!!»

«You sure about that?» he hissed. «I’m pretty sure you actually are a dog.»

She scoffed and moved off him, placing herself in the other corner of the couch, having her back towards him and pouting. He just chuckled and leaned over to her, and kept teasing her about it. She tried to ignore him, only for him to scoot closer to her and kept on going.

«Aww...The dog is mad~.» he teased her, only to get her tail flung onto his face. «Ooof!!» Luna gave a light giggle as he pulled her tail down from his face, giving a light pout. He decided to crawl over her meeting her eyes from the side. «And why did you do that?» he asked.

«Because you are being dumb.» she replied, looking away from him with her nose pointing high.

«Dog.» he said slowly to her, grinning.

«I’ll bite if you don’t stop...» she growled.

«I’d like to see you try.» he replied, still teasing her.

She just started to growl, looking at him in the corner of her eyes, seeing the grin on his face. If he could see it, he would probably make fun of her blushing, as she were, under the fur, being quite red on her cheeks. He stopped teasing and got off her, walking over to the kitchen to get something to drink and take some of the medicine for the headache, as it had slightly started up again, and he definitely didn’t want to deal with it the whole night. Luna watched him walk over, taking a pill and gulping down half a glass of water with it. It starting to get late, he decided to just head to bed, catching up on the sleep he didn’t get from being hungover, as well as hoping that it would get rid of the headache. He gulped the rest of the water down and put the glass down on the counter, clicking the light off as he wandered over to the table, grabbing his phone.

«Going to sleep?» Luna asked him.

«Yeah...Might as well, and try to get rid of the headache.» he muttered, walking over to the front door, making sure it was locked.

Luna jumped down off the couch, and followed after him as he passed her, heading to the bedroom. «You want me to sleep on the couch?» she asked all of a sudden, thinking that she would be a nuisance if she were there.

He stopped and looked down at her. «Why are you asking that?»

«You might sleep better if i’m not there…?» she said, a little unsure as she tilted her head as well.

«Do whatever you want. I’ll leave the door open.» he replied.

She nodded and watched him walk into the bedroom, keeping the door slightly open for her to wander in if she felt like it. She turned around and walked over to the windows, looking outside a little before she looked at her own reflection in the window. She recalled what he kept telling her when he was drunk on the way home yesterday night, about a girl from years ago. She fully knew about it, as it was her. She were the girl from that time, and she fully remembered that she left. She didn’t know how he felt at the time about it, when she left and didn’t know that Mohn also disappeared at the same time. Luna were ordered by her guardian at the time to stay away from humans, as they would infect her with something, something that her guardian wouldn’t tell her. She kept being told about it, but never understood the fear for humans, other than them being dumb and useless at times.

She sat down, and kept looking at herself, feeling slightly guilty for leaving that time, but once she actually bumped into him again, she felt the need to make it right, even if he didn’t remember her, considering that it had been several years, as well as of why she didn’t use her humanoid form, thinking it would be to much and scare him off, as well as making things awkward, knowing that humans were kinder to their Fae’s and pets rather than other humans.

«Humans being skittish around other humans...heh.» she muttered silently to herself, followed by a silent chuckle.

«What are you chuckling about?»

Luna flinched and looked behind her in a hurry, seeing Gladion walking over to an outlet beside her. «Nothing...» she muttered.

«Seeing anything interesting?» he asked.

«Not really...» she replied.

He just hummed softly and got the charger for his phone, which was plugged into the outlet beside her. «If you say so.» he replied, shrugging. He was about to leave when she blurted out a question if he did remembered someone from his past, that he met but never saw again. He just looked at her a little confused. «Not that i can remember, no. Why?»

She shaked her head. «No reason.» she replied cheerfully.

«Is it about something i said while being drunk…?» he asked, muttering it.

Luna just nodded, humming softly. He sighed softly, shaking his head, getting a faint color on his cheeks as he walked off into the bedroom again, being embarrassed as he couldn’t remember anything of what he said. Luna kept on giggling softly as he got out of her sight. Once he was out of her sight, she turned to look at her own reflection again. Gladion plugged his phone to the charger and got into the bed, starting to think of what she meant with her question. He didn’t manage to think too much about it before he drifted off to sleep, and Luna walking in a little later and jumped up on the bed, curling up and got comfortable. She looked over at him, being quite sure that he was the kid from all those years ago, but weren’t completely sure, as he could be a completely different human. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep, giving off a soft murr sound as she did.


	12. Chad

A few months had now passed, Christmas were over and the new year were already going for full, and college were going on as usual. Nothing much had happened other than classes being rather dull and the teachers still trying to remember everyone's names right, only to get it completely wrong most of the time. Classes as of lately had been about the battle system used when entering a tournament and how to registrate their Fae for a battle. Gladion wasn’t to interested in it, but the rest of the class seemed to be there just for that, as they were listening carefully. The teacher did let them know that they would be visiting the battle dome in a few days, and get a lecture with one of the champions in the region, which excited most of them. Luna were quite neutral to the battles, as she noticed a few of the Fae’s around in the classroom were quite excited. Luna were slightly grumpy after the Christmas eve, as Gladion made fun of her. He had bought a reindeer costume for her, only to mess with her. He got it and managed to force her in it, take a photo and keep it at a background on his phone. She wasn’t to happy in the picture, but he couldn’t contain himself after seeing a lot of ridiculous photos of peoples pets online, dressed up as different characters.

After he had forced her into the costume, and taken the photo, only to laugh at her grumpy looking face, she changed his clothes with her magic, making him look like an elf. Luckily it was the evening, and weren’t going anywhere, much less, expecting anyone. As quickly Gladion turned into an elf, Luna snorted.

«Sweet sweet revenge...» she murmured at him at the time, looking mischievously at him.

Once Gladion noticed what she had done to his clothes, he scowled at her. «You little...» he growled.

He tried several times throughout the evening to change out of them, only to get changed back into it whenever he got new clothes on. In the end, he stopped and were rather grumpy himself. Luna kept her outfit on, only to make him feel ‘better’, while keeping her mischievous aura around her. Lillie had called later that evening, wanting to wish them a ‘Merry Christmas’, only to be met with him in a elf costume, which made her burst out laughing.

«Why are you wearing that?» she managed to get out between her laughs.

«Don’t even ask...» he snarled and looked over at Luna, who were sitting and giving him a content expression.

Luna decided to walk over and show herself too. «He’s matching me!!» she exclaimed happily. Which made Lillie laugh even harder.

«I love it! It’s so cute!» Lillie told them, doing her best to hide the massive grin on her face with a hand.

«Good to see you are happy at least...» he growled.

Gladion kept growling for them both to shut up, Luna kept looking happy and content, while Lillie kept on laughing. She managed to take a screenshot of it, saving it as a memory and blackmail if needed. After that evening, when they were about to head to bed, she didn’t want to undo the magic that made him look like an elf until he had gotten her out of the costume. Once he got her out of it, and put it away, she undid the magic, which was a mere illusion. She kept being grumpy for a while, and couldn’t get over the fact that he treated her like a dog, despite her being persistent and kept telling him that she wasn’t. It had started to be running joke between them, him calling her a ‘dog’, her just kept calling him a ‘weird human’.

Classes today were boring and tiring, as people kept nodding off. The teacher didn’t do a great job of keeping them interested, which ended up with a lot of them falling asleep. Gladion kept himself awake, but didn’t catch much of what was said, other the things that were written on the whiteboard. He took a quick glance down at Luna, who were sleeping and getting pestered by some of the Ariels, that were trying to get her attention. One of the Ariels noticed that Gladion were watching, and poked the others and stopped, flying away slowly while having a nervous grin on their faces. Gladion followed their movements until they were back to their owners, hiding somewhat behind them while keeping an eye on him. Luna just kept on sleeping soundly. The class eventually ended and he woke her up, as they would be getting over to the cantine, getting something to eat before the next class were about to start.

Most of the others got up from their chairs and left the classroom, starting to head over to the next, getting good seats as there would be someone important joining the lecture for once. He didn’t know who it would be, but it seemed most of his classmates knew about him or her and were quite excited about it. He nudged Luna lightly, and she lifted her head, eyes still closed as she slightly turned her head towards him.

«What…?» she muttered sleepy.

«Lunch and moving to the lecture hall.» he replied to her.

She hummed softly, opened her eyes and got up on her feet, stretching a little. Gladion gathered the books and put them in the bag as he got up on his feet. Luna stood there, looking up at him while he but the books away and swung the bag over his shoulders, giving her a nod. They got out of the classroom, got down to the canteen and got something to munch on while heading over to the lecture hall. The teacher for the lecture were already there, and was going through his papers, as well as a lot of his classmates were scattered around. Walking a bit further up to get a good view, as well as having some distance from the excited crowd at the front. Walking over to the middle to get a good view, he sat down, placing his bag on the small counter in front of him and got comfortable. Luna laid down under his seat, keeping herself silent while listening to him open the baguette he got, taking a bite of it. Luna wagged her tail a little for him to see, which he did. He broke off around half of it and gave it to her, which she happily took, chewing as silently as she could.

«Thank you.» she muttered softly to him.

«Don’t mention it.» he replied, taking a bite of the food.

While he kept eating, the hall kept getting packed, and the teacher were ready, and now sorting the papers, while occasionally looking at the clock in the room and on his wrist, looking like he was getting slightly impatient. The last classmates of his arrived, they took a few seats two rows under him, still chatting and talking about who would be the guest for the lecture. Luna had noticed that Gladion were mostly by himself, beside her being around, which was strange, but she didn’t want to bring up the topic, thinking that it would be to much of invading his privacy. If he was happy being around her only, she didn’t mind, but still felt that he needed human friends, and not her. The teacher clapped his hands and greeted everyone, saying that the lecture had started and any slacking would result in extra homework, which made the entire room groan. Gladion just shaked his head while putting the food on the side, finding a notebook and a pen, just to have it ready if there would be something that needed to be written down.

The teacher started, and explained that it would be about the different battle strategies, for both feral and humanoid Fae’s alike. He quickly mentioned that their guest would be arriving shortly, and that they all should behave after the guest had gone through his speech and were ready for questions. As he finished the short speech, the lecture went over to its original subject. The class started, and the teacher started with humanoid Fae strategy, as those were the most common Fae to have. Gladion just sighed softly, not really paying any attention to it, as he wasn’t there to have battles, or put Luna in the situation. He don’t want to force her to do anything, considering that she were with him of her own free will. Luna were listening intently to what was being said, thinking that she might get some useful tips if she ever ended up in a battle situation.

Everyone were getting tired of all the talk from the teacher, but perked up when there was a knock on the door. «Oh! Seems like our guest is here.» the teacher exclaimed and got over to the door, opening it. «Ah, welcome! Please come on in.»

«Appreciate that.» a young male said and walked in.

The teacher let him in and closed the door, introducing him. «Ladies and Gentlemen...this is our Fae champion, Chad.»

He gave a small wave, which made most of the girls silently gasp a fangirl scream. «Hello everyone.» he politely greeted them, chuckling softly at the light fangasm from the girls. «It’s a pleasure to be here.»

«Pleasure is all ours.» the teacher said, offering a handshake.

The two shook hands and the teacher started to ask him a few questions, as the two had planned. He replied politely, talking about the possibilities for each Fae and how to work with them and give them a direct order before the fight. The male classmates of Gladion weren’t to interested in what he said, as they kept being annoyed that the girls were all head over heels for the guy, who was their age as well. Gladion wasn’t impressed by the guy, as it was fairly easy to become a Fae champ. You just needed a lot of basic knowledge, and win one tournament, and that was about it. After talking a lot about humanoid Fae’s, his topic wandered over to feral Fae’s, and asked if anyone had one, which one of Gladion’s classmates pointed him out.

«Gladion...up there had a feral Fae.» he said, and pointed up at him.

«Interesting. You the only one in this class with a feral Fae?» Chad asked.

«Seems like it.» he flatly replied.

Chad nodded. «Ah, i see. Do you know your Fae any good?» he asked.

«Well enough i suppose.» he replied, taking a quick look down at Luna, who were listening intently at what was being said.

Chad chuckled. «That sounds a little concerning.» he said, shrugging. «It’s quite hard to get to know a feral Fae, considering that their brain is smaller and more...naive, than a humanoid Fae’s.» he said.

«I’m aware.» Gladion muttered flatly. Luna gave a light scoff, which the whole class heard and chuckled.

«Oh! Your Fae is here with you?» he asked, sounding surprised.

«She is.» Gladion flatly replied.

«May i see her?» he asked, trying his best to sound politely.

Gladion looked down at her, and Luna just shaked her head. «She don’t want to.» he told him as he looked back at him.

«Well...I would like to see her, so you can just order her to show herself.» Chad told him, making his intentions a little more clear for Gladion.

«If she don’t want to, then she don’t want to. I’m not going to force her to anything she don’t want to do.» he replied, shifting his position in the seat.

«Ah...You are one of ‘those’.» Chad muttered, nodding slightly.

«Come on, Gladion. Let him see her.» the teacher told him in a stern tone.

«Creep...» Luna then muttered.

Gladion looked down at her with big eyes, and had to hold in the chuckle, placing a hand over his mouth. Chad and the rest of the class were rather shocked at what she said, lightly gasping in surprise. Chad then started to chuckle lightly. «A Fae with attitude...That’s new.»

«Like them better with an attitude.» Gladion replied.

«I can see that.» Chad replied, giving him a soft grin.

Gladion scoffed. «Why are you even asking to see my Fae?» he asked the guy.

«Oh, i’m just curious. As well as i’m looking for a specific Fae...or should i say...Fable.» he added.

Gladion narrowed his eyes at him. «Fable?»

«A rather rare Fable...that’s seemed to be a dead species.» Chad started.

A girl then interrupted. «Dead species…?» she asked, looking around at her girl friends.

Chad then explained what a dead species is, and why he were looking for one, more specifically, a  _ Kyuubi _ . Gladion narrowed his eyes more at him, listening intently to what he was saying. Luckily he had never seen a feral Kyuubi, only the humanoid form, which was why he asked to see her, out of curiosity, and hopefully finally see one.

«It’s fine. I was just curious.» he said, giving everyone a warm smile.

Chad then continued to talk about how he used the strategy in battle, helping him becoming the Fae champion of the region, and one of the most respectful people around in the city. The classmates of Gladion were occasionally giving him glares, like he had insulted Chad and possibly threatened his life at some point, even the teacher were quite displeased with it, but he knew that there was people who treated their Fae’s as a friend and companion instead of a tool for battle, which was looked down upon among the many people who did go regularly at the battle dome, training their Fae’s to the fullest. Gladion fully knew how the ‘normal’ rules were, and he didn’t like it. He kept listening and didn’t like what he said, finding a lot of faults which the teacher didn’t seem to notice, or didn’t want to notice, Chad being a well known person around this region.

Once he finished, the teacher started to clap, and the rest followed his lead. Chad thanked for being there and said that he would love to do stay around, but he had more guest lectures for the day and needed to leave rather quickly. Most of the girls hurried up from their seats and swarmed around him, wanting an autograph and a picture with him, which he decided that he had time for. The guys were sitting around, just looking at them being all giggly and happy, while Gladion gathered his stuff and decided to leave as quickly as possible, not wanting to be around him. As Gladion got up from the seat and started to leave, Luna hurried after him as usual. Chad noticed that Gladion left, but didn’t see his Fae leave with him, which made him a little more curious. Leaving the building, as it was the end of the day, they walked across the grounds, heading over to the entrance. They had to pass the lecture hall, which Chad were in still, with the many girls that seemed that they didn’t want him to leave. Chad noticed in the corner of his eye that Gladion was there, and that his Fae were walking with him, skipping around a little.

Gladion were looking quite irritated and it seemed that he were scolding his Luna, which Chad didn’t see, since the windows didn’t go all the way down to the floor, but he could clearly see the frustration. As the two were approaching the front gate, Luna had stepped into some mud, and got herself muddy, which pissed him off, as he clearly didn’t want to waste time washing her.

«I told you to stay away from the mud! Now look at you!» he hissed at her.

«I’m sorry...» she muttered, giving a soft whine.

Gladion ran his hand over his face, sighing in frustration. «You fucking dog...» he hissed.

Luna scoffed and decided to jump up at him, while he clearly told her not to. She ignored it and did just that, getting his uniform muddy as well. Gladion looked down at her with narrow eyes, as she were just looking rather content up at him, wagging her tail slightly. He sighed again and just shaked his head, not really sure what to do about her, but he knew that he needed to get a shampoo for her now. Chad were very interested in seeing his Fae and after leaving the lecture hall, he went up to the principal’s office, and decided to have a talk with him before leaving.


	13. Not Useless

On their way home from classes, Gladion stopped by a store to get Luna some soap, as he needed to wash her after she had stepped into some mud before leaving the college grounds. He wasn’t to happy about it, but he knew that would happen at some point, and that he needed to get her some shampoo for whenever that happened. Luna were patiently waiting outside while Gladion got the soap for her, and a few other things that he decided that he needed. He were still thinking about what Chad had said, about ordering her to just show herself, which irked him the wrong way.

«There is no way i’m forcing her to do anything on my behalf...» he muttered silently to himself as he found his way over to the cash register.

Paying for the stuff, he quickly bagged it while being slightly annoyed that the uniform were dirty from her jumping up on him. He knew she did it just to mess with him. He walked out, seeing that Luna were somewhat hiding behind a car close to the door to the store.

«Luna…? What is it?»

Luna looked over at him and hurried over. «That creepy...Chad guy...walked past.» she replied, looking around to see if she saw him again.

«He probably lives somewhere on the same street, or are going to the battle dome, which is the same way as well.» he replied, not wanting her to freak out over nothing.

«Maybe...I just didn’t like the way he were looking around...» she added.

«Looking around? Like...Looking for something?» Gladion asked, not sure what to think of it.

Luna just nodded, which made Gladion slightly worried. «It’s probably nothing.» he said, giving off a soft sigh. «Come on, let’s get home.» he added and started to walk off.

Luna hurried after him, staying close as they walked over to the complex and inside. Chad had passed a few times, in the hopes that he would see the Fae Gladion had, being curious about it, as well as it had an attitude, which was rare, and something he thought were a Fable ‘thing’ only. He did see Luna, but didn’t know if it was that Fae or not, so as he saw her, he didn’t take a good look, thinking that his Fae were smaller and more petite. He kept walking the street a little before heading over to the battle dome, watching some battles take place to get his mind off things.

As Gladion and Luna got to the apartment, he didn’t hesitate to just flatly order her to the bathroom, and get in the tub. She gave a pout like expression, but didn’t fight it and obliged. Gladion went to change out of the uniform first, not wanting to get that more dirty than needed before going in to the bathroom, finding Luna sitting in the tub, waiting patiently. He sighed and she tilted her head, giving off a soft giggle. Throughout washing her, he kept calling her a ‘dog’, which she didn’t like one bit, and were silently planning her revenge when he poured water over her head, finding the shampoo and dump a good portion on her, deciding to just get all of her clean while he was on it. Rubbing in the soap, he found a spot where she liked to get scratched, as she started to lean towards him. He just shaked his head and gave a soft smile, and kept on rubbing the shampoo into her fur. For being a Fable, her fur were quite thick and messy, but she had managed to keep it rather soft one way or another, which just added to the mystery about her. Finishing rubbing in the shampoo, he reached for the showerhead, turning on the water again, and started on her head, going to her back. He chuckled lightly when her ears went out to the sides as to avoid the water, which just made her look rather funny and slightly confused looking. He ran the water over her a couple of times, making sure that the shampoo were all out. He turned the water off and got up to his feet, about to get a towel to dry her up with, but she grabbed her shirt, and pulled him back, making him tumble backwards and into the tub.

«What the…!?» he lightly shouted in surprise. «Oof!!»

Luna laughed softly, seeing him sitting in the tub with her, giving her a glare. As he glared at her, she booped her nose at his cheek. «Revenge is sweet~.» she muttered cheerfully, giggling and looking utterly content on what she just did.

«I see that...» he muttered and scoffed at her. He started to get out, but she stopped him by crawling over him, placing herself somewhat in his lap, wagging her tail and looked up at him with a content expression. «You really like to be a little shit, don’t you?» he asked her, booping her nose with his finger.

«It’s in my nature~.» she happily replied to him. «I’m a Kyuubi after all~.»

«Kyuubi this...and Kyuubi that...You are just a dog.» he replied. She gave a soft nip at his forearm, which made him flinch. «Don’t you fucking bite me!»

«Did no such thing.» she replied, still laying in his lap and kept on wagging her tail.

Gladion sat there, just looking at her with narrow eyes while she were wagging her tail, looking happy for what she had done. He sighed and pushed her off,crawling out of the tub while growling as he found a towel. Luna kept on giggling lightly. He turned around to face her and threw the towel at her, hitting her straight in her face.

«Dry yourself up.» he hissed and walked out of the bathroom.

Luna shaked the towel off her and looked over at him as he left the bathroom. She then started to feel bad if she had hurt him, which was not her intention. She jumped out of the tub, and walked over to the door, peeking around the doorframe, looking over at him. He clearly didn’t look happy as he were pacing back and forth in the living room. He had been pretty irritable after new years eve, after a call from someone, and had been trashing in his sleep. She didn’t know what the call was about or what happened, as he were in a different room when the call happened. But it definitely did something to throw him off the edge. She started to whine lightly, which caught his attention and sent a glare over her way.

«I’m sorry...» she muttered softly. «I didn’t mean to hurt you...» she added, followed by a soft whine and her attempt on sad puppy eyes.

He sighed and shaked his head. Luna kept muttering that she was sorry and that she didn’t mean to hurt him. Gladion walked over, which made Luna sink down to the floor. He stopped and squatted down to her and put his hand on her head. She flinched a little as she felt his hand on her head, and kept muttering that she was sorry.

«Luna...» he started, which made her drop her ears all the way down. «You don’t have anything to apologize for.» he added.

«But i hurt you...and i didn’t mean to...» she muttered.

He just hummed softly, and gently ran his hand over her head. «You didn’t...And i’m sure of that...» he said, pausing a little to take a deep breath. «I have just...been...annoyed, as of lately.» he added.

She lightly nodded and whined another apology to him. He got up on his feet and got into the bathroom, finding a new towel and called her over. «Come on. Need to get you dry.»

Luna walked over, hesitating a little as she placed herself in front of him. He draped the towel around her and started to ruffle it around on her, drying her up as good as possible. It took a while to get her somewhat dry, and after that, he left and got changed into something else. He took a quick look at the uniform, which had a few muddy pawprints on it. He sighed and took it with him, throwing it into the washing machine in the bathroom, along with a few others and put it on. Luna stood there and watched him, while he were still looking rather irritated. Putting on the machine he walked out, and dumped himself on the couch, giving off a loud sigh, placing his arms over his eyes, just generally not sure what to do. Luna didn’t want to stir up anything, but definitely didn’t want him to feel bad or keep himself angry for whatever reason. She hesitated, but walked over to him, gently nudging his shoulder gently.

«Talk?» she muttered.

«About what?» he lightly hissed, not looking at her.

«Why are you mad? I did apologize...» she muttered, followed by a soft whine.

«I’m not mad.» he replied. She moved over and placed her head on his chest, giving off soft whines. He looked down at her, seeing a very worried expression on her. «I’m not mad. Seriously.»

«I don’t believe you...»

«Luna...don’t even start...» he hissed.

«No, i’m definitely going to start!» she said and jumped up onto him. She gave a light growls and laid down upon him. «If i have to be yelled at, screamed at or whatever for you to feel better, then so be it!»

Gladion just looked at her with big eyes, not sure how to respond. Luna just continued, sounding quite irritated and mad that he didn’t say much, but kept bottling it all up, only for it to make him more irritated for whatever reason. Gladion just kept listening to her, and after a while, he just sat up, making her move back as she kept ranting about him. She sounded quite hurt, but he knew she were just worried as he sat there, just looking at her. It took a while, and her voice started to crack a little as he put his hand on her cheeks and pulled her close, making their foreheads touching. Luna stopped talking as she got surprised.

«Why do you worry so much about me?» he asked.

«Why shouldn’t i?» she muttered.

«Because i’m an idiot, literally.» he replied. He sighed loudly. «Apparently i can’t do anything right.»

«That’s not true.» she replied quickly.

«It’s as true as it can get, Luna.» He sighed and shaked his head. «I don’t really expect you to get it either.» he added.

«Oh, i get it perfectly!» she shouted at him. «Why do you believe everything... _ everything _ ...that your mother tells you! You are not her, and you definitely don’t need to prove any point to her!» she started, taking a deep breath. «I know i don’t know you, nor your family that well, but i can tell that your mother is overly controlling, and i hate it! You are your own person, and you should do whatever  _ you _ feel is right!»

Gladion just looked at her with big eyes, but knew what she said were true. Lusamine had been quite abusive towards him, in every way possible and he didn’t know how to get out of it, the evil circle that he had been in for years. And it started quite quickly when Mohn, his and Lillie’s father, disappeared without a trace, making their mother obsessive and overly controlling about everything. He didn’t know what to do about it at the time, other than to just take it, then run away from home in his early teens, only for Lusamine to find him again, and literally keep an controlling eye on him, which she still did, even though he were in a different region.

«If i have to fight her, then so be it!» Luna said, her voice suddenly turned quite mature and clear from her usual naive and childish sounding one.

As her voice changed, he didn’t know what to do, as it caught in completely off guard. «Your...voice...» he muttered.

«What about my voice?» she lightly hissed.

«I-it changed...» he muttered lightly.

«I’ll keep using this until i get it into your head that you ain’t useless! You have never been and never will be!» she snarled at him. «I can’t believe i’m saying all this to a human...» she muttered, averting her eyes somewhere else. She looked over at him again, with quite the serious look in her eyes.

_ You are not useless, Gladion. _

«You dumb dog...» he muttered. Luna scoffed, only get interupted by him pulling her close and into a hug. She didn’t know how to react, only to slightly freeze. «I’m sorry that i make you worried...but seriously, i’m fine.» he added.

«I don’t believe you...not one bit.» she replied, not being convinced, relaxing her body a little.

«That i already do know.» he replied. He pulled out of the hug and looked at her, giving her a soft smirk. «Anything else i need to know?»

«Yeah...I’m not a dog.» she added, looking irritated.

Gladion snorted and chuckled lightly. «Make me stop.» he then told her.

«Is that a challenge?» she asked, tilting her head a little.

«Take that as you want.» he replied, shrugging.

She narrowed her eyes at him. «Right…» she muttered. Sitting for a while, she eventually pounced him, running her face over him in an attempt to ‘defeat’ him as she started to feel playful.

He just caught her and as she started to act all playful, he tried to get her off, which he managed when she had messed up his bangs, jumping off him and out to the floor, looking over at him while having a playful stance. Gladion sat up in the couch again, trying to fix the bangs of his a little as he looked over to Luna, who were lightly slamming her front paws on the floor. It was her way to invite him to some play, thinking it would let some of the angry energy out of him. Their eyes met and narrowed down at each other, only for him to jump out of the couch and run after her. Luna stood her ground, giving a few soft scoffs at him, making him more engaged in playing with her. As he almost caught her, she jumped off to the side, slamming her front paws to the floor lightly again.

«You can’t catch me!» she said rather playfully.

«Watch me...» he hissed.

He ended up chasing her for a while, only to end up on the floor, leaning against the wall, panting heavily as he didn’t manage to catch her, which was quite irritating. Luna peeked from her ‘hiding’ spot, and could see that he had a soft smile on his face, which made her happy. She got out of her ‘hiding’ spot and walked over to him. Before she could react, he grabbed her, turned her around to her back so she couldn’t run away right away.

«Got’cha!» he exclaimed.

Luna yelped and did struggle a little to get out of his grip, to no avail. She stopped struggling and were just laying there, while his arms were wrapped around her to keep her in place. He were still panting heavily, but were chuckling softly. She looked up at him and gave him a ‘kiss’, a quick lick on his chin, which caught him off guard, looking down at her. She were just looking content. She didn’t think much of it, thinking it as a gesture of trust, while he didn’t know how to take it, other than a faint blush appearing on his cheeks, which he didn’t know how to fight off. They sat there for a while, him calming down his heavy breath and fighting the small blush on him, while Luna were just laying there, wondering when he would let her go. He eventually let her go, so she could get up on her feet. He shook herself a little before taking a few steps away from him, giving him some room to get up. He seemed more relaxed, which was her intention to being with and it made her happy that he finally was, and were slowly opening up to her.


	14. Fae Interest

After a week, Gladion were feeling better, and not as tense as he had been since the new years eve. He had slightly opened up to Luna, which was strange to him, but it felt good, sharing it with someone that didn’t judge him or tell him what was right or wrong about it. Luna did tell him that she would keep pestering him whenever he was down about something, just to force him to talk, which he certainly didn’t like, but he understood why she did it, and he didn’t really mind to much of it either, knowing what the intention behind her doing it. Though, as the week went by, and the next started, a familiar face showed up in the classroom. The girls were screaming and some of them even were close to pass out as Chad walked in, introduced himself and told them that he would be joining for a while, as he had missed a few classes and had to retake them. Gladion called it bullshit, but didn’t say that out loud as he passed him and took a seat a little behind him. Gladion already knew that he were scouting out Luna for whatever reason, mostly because she was a ‘feral’ and he started to think that he already had figured out that she was a Fable, which was highly rare, and in some cases, illegal.

Chad sat down and back in the chair, looking over at Gladion and Luna, who were laying on the floor, snoozing as usual. Chad kept an eye on her for a while, just generally studying her throughout the class. Luna didn’t notice, but Gladion did and didn’t like the looks he gave her, which was rather creepy. Trying to focus on what the teacher were saying were rather hard, knowing that Chad were sitting behind him were making him uncomfortable, luckily the class were over quickly, so he packed the bags and poked Luna for waking her up. She slowly lifted her head and looked up at him, Gladion giving her a nod that they were leaving for the next class, which was in the building next door. She gave a slight nod and got up on her feet, stretching a little as Gladion walked off. She quickly followed after him, and Chad got a good look at her as she passed, and were quite mesmerized by her, being a dark color, presumably a fox, with only one tail, which made him suspicious. He had done his research about Gladion, knowing that he was an Aether, and that he would, most likely, take over the company at some point in the future, which made him quite the dangerous person to go after, risking getting a whole company after him. After they left the classroom, Chad got up and decided to follow after them, from a distance to just observe how his Fae acted around him, and how he generally treated her. Knowing that his Fae had some attitude, and were curious about how that attitude worked around Gladion.

Following them to the next building, he found their relationship quite weird looking, as it was rare to treat your Fae as a friend and with the same level of respect. He knew that the Aether company were working on getting Fae’s a better life with their owners, as well as protecting the Fables that were still in the wild, as well as making new ID tags, that would irritate the Fae’s less. From what he saw from them on the small walk over to the next building, their relationship were good and mutual. Gladion kept muttering ‘dog’ to her, which she didn’t like and Chad could see it, but the way she reacted meant that Luna were either quite used to it, or that she were smarter than she looked, being a feral. A feral would usually have the mentality of a child, which made her quite interesting to him.

They got over to the classroom, found some seats and just sat there, talking a little about what Luna wanted to eat when she got home again. Gladion just rolled his eyes. «You are eating whatever i’m making. End of story.» he said and placed his bag on the desk.

«Why can’t i decide? I can’t have your noodles all the time! I’ll get fat!»

«You’re already fat.» he replied a bit to quickly. He swallowed thickly and looked down at her, and she didn’t look happy. «Sorry...» he muttered.

«You better be sorry...» she growled at him. «I’ll eat your portion to then since i’m already fat.» she added, sounding quite hurt.

«I’m sorry...It was the first thing that came to my mind.» he replied, looking away from her.

«And it should be your last...» she hissed, lightly pouting at him.

Chad waited for a while before walking in, greeting him. «Oh, hi there…Uhh...Gladion...wasn’t it?» he asked.

«Yeah...Hi.» he replied flatly. Luna slowly found her way to the other side of the desk, hiding from him.

Chad noticed and pointed it out. «Oh...Is your Fae shy?» he asked, giving a soft chuckle.

Gladion nodded. «Yeah, more or less...She was abandoned at some point after all, so it’s only natural she’s shy around others.»

«Oh, that’s upsetting to know.» he said and took the seat beside him. «Abandoned and all.» Chad looked over at her, and Luna tried to hide some more as she didn’t like that he was so overly interested in her. «She’s such a pretty Fae...i’m surprised that someone left her.»

«Same.» he muttered flatly. Luna didn’t want anything to do with him, feeling that he were out for something else than just regular talk about Fae’s and possibly other things.

Chad tried to get some information out of him about his Fae, but Gladion didn’t say much, and stuck to the abandoned story. Gladion got surprised when he was asked about how the company were doing, and if it were running smoothly. Chad noticed the surprised expression on him and chuckled lightly. «Yeah, i know you are an Aether.» he told him.

«Done your research i see. And the company is going fine, thanks for asking.» Gladion replied, lightly hissing.

The other few students in the classroom were both shocked and surprised to hear that Gladion were from  _ that _ Aether family and connected to the company, so much that the chatter started to roam the room, which was something he had hid, not wanting to get into any talk about interns or anything of the sorts, which was quite common once people knew where he was from. Chad laughed softly. «Sorry about that, seems like i have stirred up quite the gossip.»

«Doesn't matter...It would get out one way or another anyway.» he replied.

«Glad to know that you took it with a grain of salt.» Chad replied to him, nodding and smiling politely, while taking another look at Luna.

The chatter about Gladion being from  _ that _ Aether family became a massive topic as the teacher came into the classroom, telling them all to get quiet and get the textbooks up, as he wasn’t going to waste any time on chatter. He heard a little about the Aether chatter and got curious.

«Why is the Aether company a topic?» he growled to the class.

«Seems like Gladion over there is the heir to that CEO chair.» a male classmate pointed out, which made everyone look at him.

«Oh, is that so.» the teacher muttered and looked over at him.

Gladion had never felt more uncomfortable and wanted to sink through the floor, just to get away. The teacher had his eyes on him for a little, only to scoff and tell the others that that didn’t matter, and he, himself, wasn’t there to just stand around looking like an idiot. He ordered them to get their textbooks up and open them to a certain page. Chad shrugged and turned around, finding the textbook. Gladion did the same, opening it up to said page. Luna noticed that he were slightly uneasy and put her head on his lap, and he placed his hand on her head, thinking that she were just demanding some petting again. Gladion didn’t catch much from the class, as his mind were to busy thinking about the company. He had no plans, as for now, to take over, but he were going to be in this region for a while longer, so that might change with time, but for now, no plans on that whatsoever.

The teacher started talking about how Fae’s became a thing, and how they originated from Fables that came to like humans, leaving their wild life behind in exchange for a better and easier life. He added that the Fables at the time were highly respected, almost like a deity and were feared around the different regions. Once humans overcame that fear, they started for full to capture them and literally enslave them for their own desires, which was how a Fae came to. With a lot of selective breeding and arranging battles, Fae’s became a normal thing to have, and Fable’s became rare, hiding from humans at most. There was a few that approached, but, according to what the teacher said and what was written in the textbook, they did so only to cause harm or mischief. Gladion found the subject quite interesting, mostly because he knew that Luna were a Fable, and one that didn’t cause any mischief, as of yet at least. He took a quick glance down at her. She was sitting, with her head on his lap and had her eyes closed, looking content as usual.

«Fable’s are some strange Fae’s...We don’t really know anything about them, other that they are wild and will cause mischief at times.» the teacher said and looked around the classroom. «As far as we all know, there might even be a Fable in here as we speak.» he added.

Gladion looked up at the older man with a slight surprised expression, thinking that Luna were now busted. Luckily the teacher added that that was highly unlikely, considering that a Fable would, most likely, never walk into a city like this, approaching humans of its own free will. Gladion relaxed a little again after he said that, looking back down at Luna, who were as calm as ever. Chad kept throughout the class, look over his shoulder to get a glimpse of Luna, but sitting in front of Gladion made that hard, as he had to make sure that he were looking down in the textbook or writing something down. Luna was definitely a Fae he wanted in his collection, being a collector of Fae’s that he found interesting, beautiful or mysterious. Luna, for him, fit into all of those categories, which intrigued him.

The teacher ended the class with giving them some homework, to which most of the class just groaned at. Writing down what tasks and pages to read, people closed their books and packed them down, leaving the classroom with a groan and their Fae’s following shortly after them. Gladion got off the chair and Luna tagged along, while Gladion mentioned lunch, which perked her up. Chad watched them walk out of the room, and knew he needed to approach them differently, as Gladion would, most likely, keep her away from him, as well as the Fae of his would as well hide herself whenever he got around. Gladion and Luna got down to the cantine, and sat down, digging up what he bought earlier that day, broke it in half and as usual, gave half of it to her.

As Luna finished her portion of it, she looked around the cantine a little, not seeing Chad anywhere. «Looks like he didn't’ follow us down here...» she muttered.

Gladion took a quick look around. «Seems like it. Why do you hide from him though?»

«I don’t like the way he looks at me...and he kept looking at me throughout the entire class.» she told him, looking quite uncomfortable.

«Probably just never seen a feral ‘Fae’ before.» he said, taking another bite from the food.

«Maybe...I just don’t like it...» she replied, getting the shivers.

Gladion chuckled softly as she got slightly more fluffed up. Getting done eating, they found their way over to the next class, which would be about more battle strategies, but would meet up at the battle field, as the teacher apparently were going to do a few demonstrations. Getting over there to the field, only to see most of the class already there, they found a spot to stand, watching and listening carefully. Chad were already there when they arrived, and thought that he might be able to force Gladion to put Luna into a battle, so he could see what powers and how she worked in a battle. He nodded to himself, thinking that would be the best way to see the Fae in action instead of sneaking around just to get a glimpse. He took a quick look over and saw that Luna were struggling with something, to which she looked up at Gladion and asked him for help.

«What help?» he asked her.

«My back is itching! Help...I can’t reach it!» she told him, looking distressed.

Gladion squatted down to her and started up with her shoulders. «Here?»

«Down...More down.» she guided him.

He moved his hands down to her lower back. «Here?» he asked.

«Yes~!» she exclaimed happily, murring softly. Leaning towards his hand as she looked quite content. «Thank you~.» she said softly.

«Don’t mention it.» he replied and got back up on his feet.

Luna looked quite content and she sat down beside him, looking around the battlefield and around at the many other Fae’s and humans standing around, waiting for the teacher. The teacher eventually arrived and started by introducing herself, giving them a brief explanation what the class would be about and got started with some basic information. Chad kept looking over at Luna under the brief explanation, and just couldn’t get his eyes off her. She was such a rare sight and he had to get her, one way or another.


	15. Better Food

Listening to the teacher talk about the different battle formations, which Gladion already knew, so he didn’t pay any attention to it. Luna were sitting politely beside him, listening and generally looking around the field. The teacher finally stopped talking and called for her Fae, which appeared out of nowhere from behind her. She then asked some of the other students Fae’s to join, as she would like to demonstrate a few of the formations and needed help with others. Luna scooted a little back, hiding slightly behind Gladion, not wanting to get picked. The teacher picked a few and asked them to stand on spot she pointed out for them, telling them that there wouldn’t be any battle, as of yet. When Chad heard that there might be some battle practice, he perked up and looked over at his Fae, who were standing silently beside him. He gave a light nod to himself as he looked over at Gladion, finally having a solid plan on seeing his Fae in battle.

Gladion knew the different formations, working at Aether gave him an early exposure to whatever of battle strategies and formations. He didn’t know that Chad had done his fair share of research on him, but Chad didn’t know that Gladion had his fair share of battle experience, despite hating to own a Fae, which he had to when entering this College. The teacher continued with showing the different formations, and gave their pro’s and con’s about it. She then clapped her hands, letting the Fae’s go back to their owners side before starting to mention anything about practice battles, which was something Chad had been waiting for, but he sure didn’t want to make it practice only as he glanced over at Gladion again, having a small, mischievous smirk on his face. The teacher pointed out that the different fields were open to be used for whoever that wanted to get some practice in, and for those who didn’t, they had to get their books up and read certain pages. Gladion looked down at Luna, who looked interested to get in some practice, as Gladion didn’t know what she could do, nor what he would be doing in a battle situation with her.

«Why don’t we practice on our own? You should need to know what i can do at least.» Luna said, looking up at him.

«I guess.» he said and looked around, finding a field that weren’t taken for the time being. «Over there?» he asked, pointed at the empty field.

Luna nodded. «Sure. Though, i’m sure we don’t need to do much, other than me just giving you a brief explanation of what i, more or less, can do...» she said, followed by a timid chuckle.

«As long as i know what you can do, it should be fine. I’m not looking on taking on the battle dome or any battles anytime soon.» he replied.

The field were in the corner, so Gladion got himself prepped up against the wall, sitting down while Luna would tell him what she could do, and that he would just be her eyes in the back, read the situation and give her his point of view on it. Chad kept his eyes on them as they walked off towards the unused field, only for him to sit down, and Luna as well, in front of him while talking. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but could see that they were at least talking about something. The teacher were busy getting some of the other classmates into it, while giving them a few advice and leave them to it. Chad decided to walk around the place, taking a quick look at the practice that were taken by the others as he found his way over to Gladion and Luna, ready to challenge him to a battle. A real one. The teacher noticed that he were walking around, and were looking rather suspicious, so she walked over to him, and asked if he could help some of the others, knowing that he was the champion in the region and already knew a lot. He agreed, but once he got over to some of them, they bombarded him with questions, which was something he didn’t expect and it took the rest of the class. It annoyed him to the core, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

The teacher clapped her hands and dismissed them, telling them that the fields will be available at all times, and that they just had to let someone know that they would be there to practice. Gladion got up on his feet, and dusted off his pants, gave Luna quick pat on her head, and seemed that he got around to know what he should be doing whenever there was a fight she was in. He already knew that he couldn’t do much, but to observe and give a few directions and his point of view and do what he can to help her stay out of harm’s way. Walking off, and following the others to the next class, which would be the last of the day, and Luna had ordered Gladion to get something else at the grocery store, as she were quite tired of noodles and bread. Gladion were as well getting tired of it, but he had almost never cooked before, so he clearly didn’t know what he would be doing, other than possibly start a fire. Luna reassured him that he would be fine, and that she would be there to guide him.

«Guide me? How exactly?» he asked, slightly hissing it.

«I’ll just stand on the side and watch and be annoying.» she replied sarcastically to him.

«Of fucking course you are...» he hissed. Luna giggled softly.

**\----------**

He day ended and they were on their way to the grocery store. Luna noticed that Chad were following them and got quite uncomfortable, as she noticed that he had somewhat of a scary expression on his face. She did mutter it to Gladion that they were getting followed, and he nodded.

«Let’s just get home first, and i’ll do the shopping later...» he muttered softly.

Walking down the streets, and passing the store, which made Chad a little surprised, as he did hear them talk about getting stuff. He stopped a little, just looking at them in confusion as they continued ahead. Gladion and Luna got quite the distance from him as they got to the complex, and headed inside, taking the elevator up to their floor. Luna sighed deeply in relief as they got to their floor, heading towards the apartment.

«Scared?» he asked as he found the keys to the door.

«Not really. But he creeps me out...» she muttered.

He hummed softly as he unlocked the door, opening it. Luna got inside in a hurry, while he just followed after her, closing it. He placed his bag on the table and left to get out of the uniform. While he changed, Luna took the opportunity to look through the drawers in the kitchen, seeing the bundle of instant noodles which she had come to hate. There wasn’t a lot, but she sure wasn’t going to eat that anymore, so if she had to force him to make something, she would if necessary. Gladion had gotten out again and found her looking through the drawers in the kitchen.

«Finding anything interesting?» he asked with his arms crossed.

Luna flinched and turned around in a hurry, facing him. She narrowed her eyes at him and scoffed. «Do you see this!? Unhealthy as fuck!» she snarled.

«I already know that.» he replied, giving off a sigh. «What do you want then?»

«Something real! And not...» she started and gave the drawer full of instant noodles in it a glare. «...that.»

«I get it. Not that. Just...Close the damn drawer.» he hissed and closed it. «I’ll get something...proper.» he added.

«Good...» she muttered.

Gladion growled a little at her, while giving her a glare. She just glared back at him, tilting her head a little to the side, which would usually make him let out a light chuckle. He eventually had to look away, and as he did, he made sure that he got his wallet, planning to head out right away to get groceries. Luna watched him get into his shoes again, muttering that he was leaving and then left. Luna just stood there for a while, expecting him to walk in again, as he would usually forget something, which he did. He forgot his phone and walked straight in again, getting it from the pocket from the other jacket, and then hurried out again. Luna just giggled as the door shut closed again, listening to him lightly growl to himself as he disappeared into the distance. While he were out, she took the opportunity to change into her humanoid form, and take a quick shower before he got back, knowing that he probably would take a while. She got into the bathroom, turned the shower on and put her hair up, not wanting to wash it as it would take to long to dry. She took a quick look at herself in the mirror, noticing a slight change.

She sighed. «Seems like that time of the year has come again...» she muttered to herself. «That can wait until summer vacation comes around...» she added, stepping into the shower.

Making the shower quick, she grabbed a towel and dried herself up before wrapping it around herself, finding his hair comb to use it for her tail. She had done it several times throughout the last months, and he still haven’t noticed, which was good in her case. Walking out to the living room, she sat down in the couch, and gently started to run the comb over her tail gently. Gladion were gone for a while, as he had no idea what to get, but got whatever of ‘basic’ groceries, that he knew could be used to make something. On his way back to the complex, he noticed Chad lurking around, seemingly looking for him or Luna. Luckily he was in front of him and didn’t look in the direction of his as he turned the corner back to the complex.

_ Creep… _

He got inside and over to the elevator, taking it up. Luna had finished brushing her tail and taken the few fur pieces off the comb and put it back, and as the front door opened, she panicked and hurried to change back, which was a mess in itself, at least she didn’t knock anything over. She made sure that she was in her feral form before walking out, meeting the gaze of Gladion.

«What were you doing in the bathroom?» he asked her.

«I heard a noise...and checked it out!» she exclaimed.

«And what was the noise?» he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

«I don’t know...A ghost maybe?» she replied, tilting her head, giving him a sweet look.

Gladion just rolled his eyes and started to put groceries away into the fridge. Luna hurried over to see what he had gotten, she gasped lightly and were happy from what she saw.

«Finally some real food!»

«You happy now?» he asked and looked down in the drawer in the fridge. «I’ll probably burn most of it...» he added, followed by a sigh.

«Noo...I’m sure you won’t!» she said, giving him a sweet smile.

«Don’t get your hopes up...» he muttered and closed it, and finished putting the items inside.

«Oh, i definitely will!» she exclaimed happily, followed by a soft giggle.

Gladion just rolled his eyes, but knew he had to at least give his best whenever making anything, as Luna would definitely act up if not. He didn’t see it as something impossible, as he knew he needed to learn something, as eating take out, fast food and instant noodles would definitely do something with their health, and he surely didn’t want that. It not being time for any food as of yet, he got over to the couch, grabbed the TV remote and turned it on, looking to see if there was anything interesting on either of the documentary channels or any interesting news. Luna had placed her in the chair beside the couch, needing a change of space and place for once, even though it was quite comfortable laying in the couch. The news run over it’s stuff quickly and something about this regions champion came up, which perked his interest. Luna looked at it from the corner of her eyes, listening carefully at what was being said. Gladion sat down, as he had recently seen him before getting into the complex building again.

It was about him going to the local College, and looking for a specific Fae, or Fable, which made Gladion frown at, looking over at Luna real quick. She didn’t notice him look over at her, as Chad had been around them for most of the time that day, and it was quite annoying. The only reason why Chad were around them were because of Luna, and Gladion knew that.

«Better be careful around that idiot.» Gladion lightly hissed.

«Yeah...» Luna muttered softly.

Apparently Chad had seen a Fae a few years prior, and wanted to find it, though, he had only seen the humanoid form of it, which should make it easier to find, but knowing that a handful of Fae’s could change their appearance into a feral one, he were carefully looking at every option. The interview were a few days old, but from what the two had seen, he was trying himself on Luna. The news ended, and some random documentary started right after, so Gladion didn’t bother to change. As the new show went on, Luna nodded off, sleeping in the chair, and as he watched her, he eventually drew drowsy and nodded off himself, being quite tired from the day, which was quite turbulent with one teacher that had a bad day.


	16. Lucky?

Months passing and summer vacation were starting and Gladion had gotten himself ready to leave for Alola for a month. Luna were tagging along, even though she didn’t really like the flight over, but would manage at least. Gladion got done packing the one bag he would have with him. While he were packing, and getting ready to get to the airport, Luna were laying beside the windows in the living room, looking outside for a last look before they were going to leave. Gladion got his bag and walked out to the living room with it, seeing Luna laying in the corner, looking outside.

«You okay?» he asked.

Luna looked over at him and nodded. «I’m fine. Just not looking forward to the long flight.»

Gladion nodded slightly. «Same.» He looked around a little himself and took a quick look at his phone, looking at the time. «We should be going, or the flight will leave us be.»

«I would really mind that...Neither would you.» she replied, followed by a soft giggle.

Gladion chuckled softly. «Yeah...» He gave her a nod towards the door. «Come on.»

Luna got up on her feet and stretched herself before approaching him. Gladion put his phone into his pocket and got over to the front door, opening it so Luna could get out before he did, closing and locking the door. Luna started to wander down the corridor towards the elevator, and Gladion followed shortly, putting the keys away as he walked up to her side, heading towards the elevator. Waiting for the elevator to arrive at their floor, which probably would take a while, Luna decided to pace around a little, as she haven’t been looking around the complex to much. Gladion just watched her walk off, and look around a corner.

«Seeing anything interesting?» he asked.

«Just more...doors.» she replied and looked over at him.

As she looked over at him, the elevator arrived, and she turned, hurrying up to him as he walked inside of the lift, holding the door open so she wouldn’t get her tail stuck. She got inside and sat down, wrapping her tail around his feet while looking up at the buttons and he pressed the one for the lobby. She yawned and Gladion noticed.

He chuckled softly. «Tired?»

«Yeah...Didn’t really sleep that well, but i’ll manage.» she replied, followed by another yawn.

He put his hand on her head. «You’ll have plenty of time to sleep on the flight over.» he muttered softly. Luna just nodded slightly.

Getting down to the lobby, and into the taxi that were waiting outside, they headed towards the airport. As the got there, they started to head towards the gate they would be going through, but it was hard, and took quite the time as they both had to navigate through the masses of people who were going away for vacation themselves. It took a while, but they eventually got to the gate and walked through it. The staff on the private flight weren’t to worried, as there was a lot of people walking through, though, they all knew that Lusamine were a control freak, and would ask whoever and about whatever if anything were getting delayed. Gladion knew as such but couldn’t do much about it. Gladion got inside the plane and took a seat, while Luna followed shortly after, taking place under the table that were up in front of him. She knew the take off would be turbulent, so she braced herself to the best of her ability. Gladion just sighed and let out a light chuckle at the sight, but very well knew she hated it.

«You’ll be fine, Luna. We ain’t going to die.» he told her, fastening the belt.

«Maybe...I’d rather brace myself anyway...» she muttered, followed by a soft whine.

The staff and the pilots got ready, announcing that they were heading out and were ready to take off. Luna gave a whine, crawling closer to Gladion, hiding her face between his feet. He found it quite hilarious, as well as she were scared of quite the trivial stuff as well. Around in April, she jumped into his lap because she saw a spider walking across the floor, and a few days after that, a moth had decided to fly across her nose, startling her so much that she yelped loudly. He couldn’t wait to see what else that would scare her, if there even was anything else than just those small things. The plane got onto the runaway and started to gather power and ready to take off. Luna kept on whining softly and gave a soft yelp as the flight shot forward, gaining speed and eventually getting airborne. She kept her face between his feet for a while before she looked up, feeling that it was alright again. She gave a soft sigh and Gladion just chuckled softly.

She looked up at him and gave him a pout. «Not funny!» she hissed.

«I know it’s not funny, but the reaction you give is hilarious.» he chuckled at her.

She crawled out from under the table, giving him a glare while looking slightly embarrassed. Gladion kept on chuckling, at least until she swung her tail onto his face, making him stop. He grabbed her tail, holding it tightly so she wouldn’t manage to run off to quickly. She just stood there, glaring at him while he glared back at her. They kept glaring at each other for awhile, but when Luna narrowed her eyes, he lost it and had to look away, laughing. Luna didn’t know what was so funny and looked utterly confused up at him.

«W-what so funny?» she asked.

He kept on laughing, which was a rare sight in itself, but she would usually know what was so funny. Luna didn’t know how to react other than to sit down, letting him finish laughing.

«I’m sorry, you just looked to funny.» he got out between the laughs.

«Well, i’m happy to humor you...» she lightly hissed at him.

Her expression softened as she looked at him laugh, loving every second of it as it was rare, and even rarer when it was genuine. She could feel her body heat up, feeling all warm and fuzzy. She didn’t know why, and the feeling were very new to her, but it felt good, so she didn’t discard it or try to ignore it. After he calmed down from laughing, he found a bottle of water and sipped on it for a while, and Luna made herself comfortable beside his seat, laying down. Her tail laying still in his lap, as he were still gently holding it, running his hand over it softly. The flight had been going on for a few hours, and the sky had started to turn dark. He put the cap on the bottle and put it away before getting comfortable in the seat he sat in, taking a quick look down at Luna who were sleeping, beside her ear giving a light twitch once in a while. Putting the back of the seat down, he got comfortable and still had her tail in his lap, as it kept him feeling somewhat warm. And safe. Looking out at the window of the plane, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

He suddenly woke up by a swift movement from the side, which made him flinch awake, and look into that direction. While looking over where the sound came from, he didn’t see the wall of the plane, but out into a forest, seeing several trees as far as he could see. Sitting there, he kept looking around the surroundings, not sure how he got there or if it was a dream.

«If this is a dream, how come i already know that…?» he asked himself.

«This is no dream, Gladion. I can tell you that much.» a female voice told him from behind.

Gladion got up in a hurry and turned around, seeing the female who spoke to him. The female were hiding in the shadows, but she knew his name, and there was only one that he knew of that actually could know of it, beside his classmates and family.

«Luna…?» he muttered softly.

«Bingo~.» she replied and finger guns him, giving him a playful wink. «Started to think that i had to give my name to you all over again.» she added, followed by a soft sigh and a shrug.

She walked out from the shadows, and his eyes grew wide from her appearance. She was in her humanoid form, and considering that he were quite used to her being in the feral one, he couldn’t get over that she were still quite small and petite. She passed him, and let her tail gently run over his chest and shoulder as she did, which made him turn towards her.

«Where am i? What is this place?» he asked, feeling slightly intimidated by the female.

She turned, put her arms behind her back and leaned forward towards him. «Welcome to my home~.» she said and smiled sweetly to him.

«Home?» he parroted.

She nodded and hummed softly. «Yes. My home. Or rather...My territory.»

She turned around and continued to walk off, which made him follow her, knowing that he would be safer around her than standing on the stop, just waiting to wake up, or whatever else that would happen. Walking with her, he couldn’t get his eyes off her, especially her hips, which made quite the extravagant movements, as well as her tail were softly following after. Continuing off, they ended up around a small pond, with a small waterfall running down a hill. The scenery were quite familiar, but the colors were quite different from what he could recall seeing. 

«Haven’t i been here before…?» he asked, muttering it softly.

«In the real world, yes. It’s the place where you met me while wandering aimlessly around the forest around the Aether mansion in Alola.» she replied.

«Why is it here?» he asked, looking around.

«This is what Fable’s and Fae’s call the ‘twilight realm’.» she replied.

«Twilight realm….But you are…?» he started, getting interrupted by her.

«Sleeping right beside you in a plane. Yes, kinda.» she replied and turned around towards him again. «I’m a Fable...i kinda...never really sleep.» she added.

«How did i even get here…?» he then asked. «And how do i even get out?»

«No worries on getting out, i’ll help you with that...but getting in...is a different story.» she replied.

She sat down, and offered him to do the same. Gladion sat down and kept his eyes on her. She was so different, so mature and...quite stunning. Long hair that framed her face, reaching down to her lower back, maybe even more so. Her eyes shimmering with a grey color, and her eyelashes gently showing their femininity. She had quite the petite frame, and he couldn’t help to wonder how she had survived in the wild for this long, as she weren’t looking any older than him. She were talking, and his eyes got fixated on her lips, watching them move but couldn’t hear anything that came out from them. Luna noticed and kept on talking, but started to talk nonsense, being quite sure that he wouldn’t catch anything.

«...and then the mighty white knight jumped off his white steed...»

«What..?» he muttered as he suddenly started to hear what she was saying. Moving his eyes up to hers.

She giggled softly, which made him lightly blush. «Seems like you came back after a while.» she murmured, giving him a playful wink.

The blush on his face intensified, but considering the quite dark lighting around this realm made it hard to notice. «How did i end up here?»

«Because you wanted to.» she flatly replied to him.

«I didn’t even know that this realm existed...How can i want to be here?» he asked, slightly hissing it.

«Probably because you got lonely.» she added, tilting her head at him.

Luna continued to talk about it, explaining it to him to the best of her ability. He kinda got it, but it was still quite blurry in many places. He asked her a lot of questions about the place, and she replied. After a while, there was a slight disturbance on his part, his vision getting foggy and blurry. Luna just explained that he’s waking up in the real world, and it was for the better, the Twilight realm being quite dangerous for a human that didn’t know what it was.

«Just close your eyes and let this reality go. Kinda like falling asleep again.» she told him.

«Not sure if i should trust that...» he replied.

«Ugh...Whatever.» she muttered, rolling her eyes at him. He did as she told, closing his eyes and trying not to focus. As he were about to ‘drift off’ again, she spoke again. «Sorry for the naive nature of my feral form...she can be a handful.» she added before everything went blank for him.

He slowly opened his eyes, looking up at the ceiling for the plane. He blinked a couple of times as he sat up in the seat, looking around at his surroundings again. He was indeed inside of a plane and not in some random and purplish forest. A quick glance down to the side, he saw Luna, her feral form, still sleeping peacefully, as well as her tail were still in his lap. Thinking a little about it, it might just have been a dream, and it was because of the feeling of her tail that made it so realistic for him. He gave a soft sight and laid back down in his seat, looking up at the ceiling again. Turning his attention, he couldn’t seem to forget about her supposed humanoid form, which made the already visible blush on his cheeks even more visible.

_ If that’s her...then i’m quite lucky...i guess...? _


	17. Trip back Home

It took a while, and Gladion were still awake when Luna woke up, giving off a loud yawn and stretched herself as she moved, laying on her side, giving off a loud sigh. Gladion looked down at her, seeing that her eyes were still closed, but were awake. He didn’t say anything, being slightly afraid that she would bring up her humanoid form. Her tail slowly fell down from his lap, which made her open her eyes, just looking around a little. Gladion were still laying down in the seat, looking out of the window, seeing the sun slowly appear in the horizon. Luna perked her ears and sat up in a hurry, as she did, Gladion looked over at her. He quickly put his seat up straight and moved a little, sitting more comfortably. 

Luna then gasped and almost jumped up to his lap, looking out of the window. «Look!» she exclaimed excitedly.

«What…?» he muttered, not sure what she was sounding so excited about and looked out of the window as well.

What he saw was equally as rare as Luna, being a Kyuubi. A massive bird like Fable were gracefully flying around in the distance, it’s feathers were shining brightly in the sun that were still slowly getting up.

«It’s a Thunderbird!» she added. «Never seen one before, as they mostly roam highly in the sky.» she said, wagging her tail in excitement.

«Thunderbird...» he repeated, looking at the massive, golden-like Fable that were roaming the skies. «Ain’t they suppose to bring thunderstorms with them?» he asked.

«Supposedly only if agitated or being threatened.» she replied, giving him a content expression.

He just nodded, and kept his eyes outside the window. They could also hear the light gasp from the staff that were minding their own business when they saw it, being excited as it was a rare Fable, and they all saw it in the wild. The Fable have been pictured in books only, and a few replicas at the many different museums around the regions were seen, but never a real life one. Luna gave a light giggle as she heard them, as well as the pilots through the speaker were gasping in excitement.

«Apparently it’s good luck with love if you see a Thunderbird.» one of the pilots muttered to the other, forgetting that the speaker were on.

«Yeah, like i need help with my wife.» the other chuckled softly. They both ended up laughing, continuing to joke about it.

Luna just rolled her eyes. «You humans have the weirdest fairy tales...»

«It’s what people say...i’m sure there is something about your species as well.» he added.

Luna tilted her head and nodded. «Probably...You humans are weird after all.»

Gladion scoffed. «Sure...»

Watching the Fable disappear behind some clouds, they all calmed down, but the staff kept talking about it. Luna sat down again and started to scratch herself on her shoulder. Gladion gave a soft sigh and got his phone up from his pocket, searching for the little information about the Thunderbird. Since it was a rare sight, there wasn’t much information about it, other than the saying about it bringing good luck with love, which was just ridiculous in itself. He took a quick look at the time, and figured out that they would be in Alola in about half a day, considering that there wasn’t much going on with the weather, it being nice and clean, and with no dark clouds in the distance. Luna were walking around the plane, looking out the other windows to see if there would be more of the Fable, as if there was one, there would usually be a pair, knowing that they have only one mate for life. As he were looking for more information, a text came through from Lillie.

_ Mother is going to Kalos for some business, so she literally just left and told me to shut up about this but...  
You are literally coming home to just run Aether while she’s gone….  _ **\- Lillie**

Gladion groaned and facepalmed, running the hand over his face in annoyance. «Of fucking course i am...» he hissed.

Luna looked over at him. «What is it?»

«Seems like i’m just going home to run the company...» he hissed.

Luna tilted her head. «Oh...Isn’t that a good thing though?»

Gladion sighed. «In some sense...yes. In another...no.»

Luna didn’t really understand it as she approached him, sat down in front of him and put her paw on his knee. «It will be fine...You can do it! And i’m here to help too!» she said happily.

Gladion smiled softly at her. «I know that, thanks.» he replied and placed his hand on her head.

Luna kept on telling him that he would be fine, and it was good that his mother wasn’t there, as if she was there and had said or done anything, Luna would step in the way and do what it takes to give the woman a message that she would never forget. Gladion dismissed it, but he fully knew she would do something as she wasn’t the one to joke, as she didn’t get most jokes. Luna eventually got down beside his seat, rolling over to her back with all of her legs in the air, getting comfortable while muttering some silly stuff about her pretending to be a human. Gladion tried to hold in his laughter, but eventually cracked, laughing at her. She kept laying on her back, and started to snooze. Gladion stopped laughing, but kept chuckling at her while she were sleeping again, keeping her feet up in the air. One from the staff got over some food to him, which he took, but didn’t eat it, knowing fully well that he would get sick from it, and that was the last thing he wanted to be when arriving in Alola again.

The flight were eventually over, and they were going to land pretty soon. Luna had woken up a few minutes earlier, and were starting to brace herself under the table in front of Gladion, hiding her face between his feet again. Gladion just sighed at her, shaking his head lightly. It would be pretty late when landing, so they would, most likely, just head to bed and try and get some sleep, getting over the jet lag from the flight over. They finally landed, and Luna calmed down after getting into the taxi, starting to head over to the mansion. Before they landed, Lillie had given him another text, telling him that their mother were already gone, and that they at least had a day before he would be starting to run the place for a month or less, depending on when Lusamine’s business in Kalos were done. Getting the bag into the taxi and getting over to the mansion, Gladion slowly got nervous, thinking about running the place for about a month. For being 19, turning 20 after the vacation were over, it was a huge responsibility to run it, doing meetings and just generally making sure everything ran smoothly around the place.

Getting to the mansion and out of the taxi, Luna looked around a little, taking in the familiar surroundings a little as Gladion got his bag and paid the driver for the ride over, approaching her as the taxi left. «Nostalgic?» he asked.

«Not really...It haven’t been that long...» she said, and then looked up at him. «Have it?» she asked, looking confused.

«It’s almost been a year already.» he replied, opening the front door and walking in.

It was late, so he guessed that Lillie were already asleep as he let Luna in, telling her to be quiet as he closed the door. Luna just nodded and kept herself as silent as possible. The household butler came wandering around the corner, welcoming them back home and back to Alola. After a few words, the butler said goodnight and left, alongside Gladion and Luna, who took the stairs up to his room here, getting themselves ready for bed and would possibly sleep in the next day. Getting into his room, Luna found her way to the bed and jumped up on it and just sprawled out. Gladion didn’t do much else than put the bag down and quickly get himself under the sheets, just wanting to escape one way or another. He got under the sheet and got himself comfortable before Luna crawled up closer to him, snuggling up as close as she had been allowed to. She let out a content sigh as she got more comfortable, falling quickly asleep. It took a bit longer before he managed to drift off to sleep, but he eventually did when he calmed down his mind.

**\----------**

The next day were as lazy at it could get. Being sleep deprived, Gladion didn’t do much else than to just be around the mansion, looking tired. Wicke had paid them a visit, only to give him some information about what he would be mainly doing and looking over, which he found interesting. There was a new ID tag being produced, which should be able to fit both feral Fae’s and humanoid Fae’s alike, without harming them and would be easy to get off if needed. It was something he have had in mind for a few years prior, but never mentioned it, thinking that it would be shut down quickly. Lillie were outside with Luna, dolling her up like a ‘lady’ as she kept saying. Luna didn’t like it, but she kept her calm and let her do it to keep her happy. Lillie eventually came inside, and Luna followed after, sitting down beside the massive glass doors, leading out to the garden. Gladion looked over at her and snorted at the sight.

She weren’t looking pleased with the massive bow around her neck and on her head. «Having fun?» he cackled.

She sent him a glare. «Overjoyed...can’t you see that.» she growled at him.

«How beautiful.» he replied sarcastically to her, laughing.

Luna lifted her head high, trying to look proud. «Of course. I’m a lady after all.» she replied, knowing fully well she looked ridiculous.

Luna walked up to him and whined. «What?» he asked.

«Take it off...» she muttered, followed by a soft whine.

He chuckled. «Why? Done being a ‘lady’ already?» he asked. Luna just nodded slightly.

He put the few papers away that Wicke had delivered to him earlier and turned around towards Luna, starting to undo the bow on her head first. He did see that Luna were looking quite distressed with the massive pink bow on her head and around her neck, and having her as his Fae, he couldn’t let her be uncomfortable. Once the head bow were off, he got the one around her neck off as well. She shook herself, getting her fur ‘in place’ again before giving him a content expression.

«Thank you~.»

«Your welcome.» he replied, giving her a soft smile. «What would Lillie say now?»

«Frankly...i don’t care.» she muttered softly and walked up front of him, laying down beside him on the floor, out of sight from Lillie if she would walk in again.

Lillie eventually walked in, and didn’t see Luna and asked Gladion were she was. Gladion just shrugged and told her that he didn’t see her walk in and that he were busy looking over the papers that Wicke came over with. Lillie sighed and groaned lightly as she turned around, and decided to just leave to find Hau and Sol, hanging out with them. Gladion just rolled his eyes, hearing her get her stuff and then hurry out of the front door. Him and Luna exchanged looks and shrugged.

«Did she get mad at me and then left?» she asked.

«No. She just need something to do 24/7. I don’t know how she does it though.» he replied, going over the last piece of document.

Luna just hummed softly. «Oh...Okay.»

After laying around a little, she got up on her feet and started to wander around the living room. Gladion kept a watch on her from the corner of his eyes as she explored the room all over again. Keeping her in his field of vision, she had a few scared jumps out of nowhere, which he probably thought were either a bug or a spider, knowing that she didn’t like those. The biggest scare jump she did was when there was a loud noise coming from the kitchen, which just meant that the cook were preparing for dinner. As she jumped, he saw it and started to laugh, as the fur on her back were standing straight up, as well as her tail were rather stiff looking as she hesitated, approaching the door to the kitchen to take a look. Hearing him laugh made her turn and hurry towards him, jumping up to him from behind and starting to rub herself on him in a playful matter. He couldn’t help but to laugh more, trying to tell her to stop. The household butler walked through the door to the living room, but backed out after seeing Luna just messing with him, and Gladion laughing, which was a rare sight. He just smiled softly, being happy that the young master were, for one, sounding happy while being in Alola.


	18. Finally Humanoid

A day passed and Gladion were at the main office, just going through documents that Lusamine had left behind. Probably because she didn’t want to deal with them and knew that he were coming home for a month, letting him deal with it while she were on a ‘vacation’ in Kalos. Looking over the documents, sorting them and giving them a signature were the most boring task in the world, but it was something that were needed to be done. Luna had been looking around the massive office, and had recently just prepped herself in a chair in front of the main desk, still looking around. It was hard to get any sleep as Wicke and other people would walk in, having a meeting about future plans and current projects. Most of the people that were having a brief meeting with him were rather rude when they figured out that it was Gladion and not Lusamine behind the desk.

Been sitting behind the desk for hours, he sat back in the chair, sighing loudly. «Ugh...I hate this...» he muttered, running his hands over his face.

«You should take a break whenever you want to.» Luna muttered, looking up at him.

«Easier said than done...» he muttered, looking at the pile of documents that he still needed to go through before the day is over.

He gave another sigh as another knock on the door were heard. He collected the few documents that were done and placed them on the side before replying that the door were open. He straightened up in the chair, putting the computer on screen saving as the door opened. Luna looked over the back of the chair, seeing who it could be, but as usual, it was someone she had no idea who was. An older man walked in, while Wicke were on the other side of the door, looking rather suspicious. Luna noticed and kept following the man as he offered a handshake. Gladion got up from the chair, accepted the handshake and offered him the unoccupied chair. He sat down and got comfortable, looking over at Luna and were about to give her a pat on her head. As his hand came closer, she gave a light growl, which made him retract his hand quickly, giving her a frown.

«Not the friendliest i see...» he muttered, squinting his eyes.

«Just leave her alone, and you’ll be fine.» he replied, sitting back in the chair. «Now...What business do you bring along?» he asked, getting straight to the point.

The man nodded, introducing himself again as Shin, and started talking about expanding to Hoenn, where he was from and figured he should get Aether on the board, getting an office there. Shin were quite eager to get Aether on board, and from the way he talked, it looked like he had predicted that Lusamine would be gone and that Gladion, or someone else would be there, making a decision of opening a new office. Gladion were listening, nodding politely at certain things, but he knew he couldn’t do any major decision like that, other than to make a summary of the meeting and give it to Lusamine when she’s back. Shin got done talking about it, and were eagerly waiting for a positive response from him, knowing that Gladion were running the place to an extent, and that he were, most likely, the next CEO of the company.

«So...Your thoughts about it?» he asked softly, thinking that the deal were already sealed.

Gladion hummed softly. «It’s an interesting idea, but i can’t really do much about it...If that’s why you came here for. All i can do is to report it back to Lusamine and you have to wait for a reply from her. I can’t make any decisions on that.»

He looked at him, quite offended. «But...You are running the company, even as a stand in. As well as you are, most likely, the next face of the company.»

«True...» he muttered, not really wanting to take over the company, feeling quite resentful to the whole ordeal about it. «And i am ‘running’ the company...but i’m just a stand in for the month. I suggest you get back at a later time, when Lusamine is here to give you a proper reply on the matter.»

He scoffed. «Of course...Apparently it’s too much to ask when mommy isn’t around.» he replied, looking quite displeased.

Gladion frowned, and that was the confirmation that he needed to be sure that Shin was there only to get his idea approved when Lusamine wasn’t around. He added that he would be back at some point, and that he would now take his leave, telling his co-workers that the idea were turned down. Luna rolled her eyes, which was something Gladion noticed from her, as she could tell if he were lying or not. Shin kept on going that Fae’s and Fable’s were now going to live in filth and whatnot, which Gladion already knew wasn’t the case. Shin got up from the chair, being all high and mighty as he said goodbye and literally stormed out of the office, slamming the door shut. Gladion groaned lightly and Luna flinched as the door slammed shut, followed by a soft sigh.

«You dealt with that quite well.» she said to him.

«Could have been better...» he growled.

«How so? You were polite, and the fact that he actually came around because he knew you were around, he expected you to accept it.» she replied, tilting her head at him.

«Ugh...Maybe...» he muttered.

Luna jumped down of the chair and walked over to him, placing her paw on his knee. «Take a break. You can’t sit here all the time.» she muttered softly.

He sighed. «Fine...Let’s walk around a little.» he replied.

He ran his hands over his face again before getting up from the chair, stretching his back a little. Luna walked around the desk and stood in front of it, looking at him as she were lightly giving a few soft whines, looking over at the door, wagging her tail slightly. He lightly groaned, but walked over to her, knowing that she didn’t want to just walk around in the office, but around the place, looking a little around while being up on her feet. Luna just looked up at him as he stopped beside her.

«Come on...Let’s look around a little.» he said towards her.

Luna were lightly skipping beside him as they walked over to the door, opening it and letting her out first. She happily skipped out into the hallway, waiting for him to join. Gladion closed the door and walked up to her side, them both walking off and down the hallways. Workers were walking past them, and greeting him as they did. Being polite, he just greeted back, while still looking quite stern and serious. Wandering around a little, they ended up in the lobby area. On the way over to the lobby, Luna had pointed out that he looked quite sharp for being him. He just replied that he couldn’t look like a homeless or a slob while being the stand-in president for the company. 

«Can’t really say that you are the one to look shabby anyway.» she replied to him.

He slowed down, letting her walk a little more in front of him as he started to blush, just watching her walk off a little. «O-of course...» he muttered, clearing his throat. Luna gave a soft giggle, hearing that he stuttered it.

Standing at the end of the hallway, looking out at the lobby, people and Fae’s were wandering around, talking to employees and generally just waiting around for help. Shin, the guy that were just at the office, were still around, talking on his phone and weren’t looking happy with the reply Gladion gave him. Gladion sighed and shaked his head, turning around, walking off. Luna just tilted her head and followed after him. Shin had seen them in the reflection of the glass windows of the front, and couldn’t help himself to grin while watching him walk off again.

«I’ll call you back. I have something in mind that might change the kid’s mind.» he muttered and ended the call, putting the phone down into his pocket.

Gladion and Luna were right around the office again as they both heard a loud commotion going on behind them. Stopping and looking behind them, an employee came running up to him. «You master...Miss Lillie...» he panted heavily, pointing down at the direction of the lobby.

«Lillie...» he muttered and started to look rather horrified.

He ran down towards the lobby again, Luna quickly following after him. Getting to the lobby, Lillie were sitting on her knees, while being held up by her hair, a Fae holding it tightly, while looking quite stern. Shin were pointing in all direction, mostly from the adrenaline he probably felt, but as well from a slight panic, as there was no turning back. Gladion and Luna got to the lobby again, seeing the sight and listening to whatever Shin were shouting all over the room, just talking nonsense and insulting the Aether company for not listening. Wicke were standing at the other hallway across the room, watching in horror at the scene. Luna observed, and quickly took a few steps back, getting ready to sneak up behind the Fae, which was of the wolf class, in it’s humanoid form.

«Lillie!» Gladion shouted.

Shin looked over at him, with a mischievous grin across his face. «Oh..Isn’t it the ‘young master’?» he muttered, clearly insulting him.

Lillie were crying, being both in pain and terrified, as she had just arrived, going to just take a look around a little before leaving to meet up with Hau and Sol. Everyone else in the room were just watching and listening in horror at the demands that Shin were making. Before Luna could do anything, Shin ordered his Fae to attack, which made it let go of Lillie, as she hurried away from the scene, over to the wall along with some visitors. The Fae launched at Gladion, which made Luna launch back at it. She jumped up at the Fae and dug her teeth into his shoulder, which made it lightly yelp in pain, and tightly gripping at her neck and upper jaw, trying to pry itself out of her bite. A wolf type Fae were known for their brute strength, which Luna knew she had a hard time dealing with, knowing fully well that she had to use magic and speed to tire it down a lot before she even could think about attacking. Gladion didn’t even manage to react before Luna jumped out in front of him, watching what were happening. Wicke managed to get over to Lillie, asking if she was alright, which she was, just scared while the two looked over at the fight happening.

The Fae managed to pry her mouth open, breaking a canine of hers before throwing her off towards the wall, making her hit the wall hard, giving off a loud and painful yelp. Shin kept shouting orders to it as it got up to a straight position, and ready to launch at Gladion again. Luna had gotten up to her feet, panting heavily in pain, but as she heard that the Fae were to launch at him again, she didn’t waste time. As the canine Fae launched again, going for a punch, he got interrupted by a female voice coming from the side of him.

«Not this time.» she snarled.

She launched, hitting him in his jaw, making the Fae fly to the side and crashed into the windows, landing outside in a pile of shattered glass. The entire lobby just watched it unfold, gasping in surprise at what happend. Gladion were just looking at the female Fae in front of him, knowing he had seen her before.

«Luna…?» he muttered softly in surprise.

«I’ll take care of the Fae, if you take care of its owner.» she replied, and walked towards the canine outside.

Shin were looking at her in surprise, not sure what to believe as she walked out of the window, being careful for not stepping into any shards of glass. Gladion watched her for a few seconds, before looking over at Shin, scowling at him. Shin had his eyes glued at him and flinched when seeing the scowl, followed by a harsh glare. Gladion then walked over to Lillie and Wicke.

«Lillie...Are you okay?» he asked.

«I’m fine, but...» she muttered and looked outside, seeing the male Fae fight against a female Fae. «Is that...Luna?» she muttered.

The two Fables were launching at each other, only for Luna to jump out of the way, using her speed to tire him out to the fullest. Gladion confirmed that it was Luna, even though he was quite surprised himself, it being the first time seeing her humanoid form in real life, not counting the time from the dream-like vision a few days ago. Luna and the male Fae kept on going for a while, and it was clear that the Fae had the upper hand the whole time. After a few more minutes, he hit her and sent her flying back, hitting a tree. She hit it quite hard, getting disoriented for a few seconds as she shaked her head lightly. The Fae were visibly getting exhausted, which was her plan to begin with, but Luna herself were getting tired, as it had been a while since she had been in an intense fight like this, in her humanoid form. The Fae had a quick breather before launching at her again, Luna barely managing to dodge it. Lillie putting her hands in front of her face, not wanting to see the result as she gave a light scream, while Gladion shouted her name out of reflex.

At the same time, her eyes slitted, and gave started to emit a faint glow. She jumped off to the side, her back facing the building. She took a stance while charging up a pink orb of energy in front of her hands, and as the Fae charged at her again, she fired it straight at him. The Fae didn’t manage to dodge and got hit, creating a massive smokescreen in an instant. Everyone in the lobby were watching in anticipation, wondering who actually won the fight and what would happen next. As the smokescreen slowly subsided, the Fae had fallen down to the ground, getting unconscious as few electric sparks going around him from the impact of her attack. Luna took a deep breath and sighed loudly, placing her hand over her heart, her ears slightly leaning outwards. Her eyes had gone back to normal, not being slitted, nor giving off a faint glow anymore.

Gladion ordered Wicke to get the police over before Shin managed to get away, as he were still there, watching his Fae lose to a female Fae, which was something that he had never seen. Lillie slowly took her hands away from her face, looking outside at the supposed battle field, the ground being a mess, as well as a few trees around the place had fallen over or gotten massive scars over them. Gladion got up on his feet and helped Lillie up as well. Wicke called the police, while giving a few of the employees a nod, gesturing them to get a hold of the man and get him into a room, locking him inside until the cops arrived. Lillie looked around the lobby and were slightly horrified at the sight, people and Fae’s being scared and horrified at what had just happened. Luna walked inside of the building again through the broken window, as well as Gladion walked over to her, not really sure what he would be saying or do. Stopping before the shards of the window started on the floor, he just looked at her as she stepped inside.

Luna looked over at him, their eyes meeting. Her light grey eyes were quite intense, yet there was so much gentleness in them that he didn’t know where to look. She just gave him a soft smile. «Is Lillie okay?» she asked.

Her voice threw him off. So gentle, yet quite mature for what he expected. «She’ll fine.» he quickly replied.

«And you?» she added, taking a step towards him. «You okay?» she asked, stopping a little in front of him.

«Yeah...» he muttered, and quickly looked behind himself, seeing the state of the lobby, which was a complete mess.

She smiled sweetly, placing her hands behind her back. «That’s good. It means that i were useful on protecting my human and his family.»

«Uhuh...» he replied, looking back at her. She was smaller than what he expected, and she were quite petite, considering that he were quite used to her feral form, which he, for some reason, found massive. «Are you okay though?» he asked.

«I’ll be fine. A broken canine, but that’s to be expected from a Fae like that.» she replied, looking out at the canine Fae, who were laying there unconscious.

Shin were just looking over at Gladion, as well as Luna, who he found quite interesting, being able to turn from her feral form in a few seconds like that. Which for him, meant that she had to be quite strong considering her small frame. Wicke walked over to Gladion and told him that the police were on their way, and that Shin would be taken away, kept in a room until they arrived. Shin didn’t protest as some employees grabbed his arm gently, and guided him off the lobby area. Wicke then told him to relax as much as possible before the police came, which he nodded at, telling her that he would just head back to the office and wait there. He took a last look around the place.

«And what about this mess…?» he asked.

«Keeping it as is for the police to get evidence...after that, we have to get over some people to repair it quickly.» Wicke added.

«Is there a  _ Silky _ around here?» Luna then asked.

Gladion and Wicke just looked at her in slight confusion. «Yes, there is a couple of Silkies around here...why?» Wicke added sweetly.

«A Silky loves household stuff, so i guess you can ask one to repair it all in a few seconds when the police is done.» she said, shrugging. «It will spare any expenses on your part as well.» she added, poking Gladion’s cheek.

«I guess...Never really thought about that.» he replied, looking over at Wicke, who just nodded, finding that a good idea.

After exchanging a few more words with Wicke and Lillie, Lillie decided to just go home, canceling her plans with Hau and Sol, just wanting to relax and get over the fright from this ordeal. Gladion and Luna got over to the office again, him sitting down in the loveseat while giving off a loud sigh, running his hands over his face. Luna shrugged and sat down in the chair beside him, crossing her legs while starting to wiggle the loose canine of hers, being slightly annoyed that it got loose, knowing fully well that she wouldn’t stop playing with it until someone forced her to. After an hour, the police had been there, asking questions and taken Shin away, as well as his unconscious Fae, into custody for more questions. After they had taken a good portion of photos of the lobby as evidence, they left and Wicke had found a Silky that would help, fixing the entire room and making it spotless. Wicke had also been around with a tube of superglue on Gladion’s request, as Luna couldn’t stop wiggling her loose fang, gluing it on place. Luna didn’t mind, but it was rather annoying as well, since the glue were tasting awful. Wicke just chuckled lightly before leaving them to it, Gladion slowly getting through the documents again, while Luna sat there in silence, watching him and looking around the room.


	19. Into the Shadows

Luna were sitting in the loveseat area, running her hand over her tail gently. Gladion were going through the documents, and the day seemed to get back to normal, beside someone had gossiped to a certain someone, who had hurried over to the office when they heard that Gladion were there, and had ‘saved the day’. Hurrying over, they didn’t even greet the staff in the lobby, nor listening to them when they told them that Gladion were busy and that they shouldn’t disturb him. They completely ignored it and skipped ahead. Gladion were just about done with the papers for the day, and took a quick look over at Luna, who were gently running her fingers through her fur on her tail. He noticed that her right hand were quite blue, or at least getting blue. He got up from the chair and walked around the desk and over to her, sitting down beside her and presented his palm to her. Luna just looked at him in confusion, not sure what he were asking for.

«Your hand.» he slightly ordered her. Luna just lifted up her left hand, as he didn’t specify which hand he were asking for. «Right hand.» he added. She handed her her right hand, and he gently held it, running his thumb softly over her knuckles. «You actually did get hurt.» he muttered, looking at her hand that were slowly turning black and blue in front of his eyes.

She smiled softly at him. «Don’t worry about it. It was to be expected anyway.» she replied.

He let go of her hand and got up from the couch, walking around the loveseat area to the fridge that was in there, getting a cold bottle of water. «That still doesn't mean you should endure it.» he said, and got the bottle over to her, handing it over. «Put this on to prevent the swelling.»

Luna took the bottle and hesitated a little, getting a little suspicious of him as of why he all of a sudden cared, never getting that vibe from him through the past year that they have known each other. She didn’t even dare to ask why, and placed the cold water bottle on her hand. «Thank you...» she lightly muttered.

«You are under my care, as my Fae...So i really don’t want you to be hurt, no matter how small the injury is.» he said and got back over to the couch, beside her.

«Is that so…?» she muttered, only for him to take a hold of her hand again, and the bottle, holding on her hand gently as well as keeping the bottle on top.

He didn’t care, as well as he knew he had time to get away from the documents a little, but it was pure coincidence that he noticed her hand getting black and blue from the fight earlier. He wasn’t really sure how to react, nor talk to her now that she was in her humanoid form, other than to do his best to be normal, whatever that meant. Luna seemed to notice and just let him, not wanting to fuel the insecurity of his. Sitting there in silence, there was some light ruckus outside in the hallway, only for the door to the office to swing open as a girl came hurrying through, almost running. She noticed Gladion, hurrying over to him while lightly calling his name.

«Gladion~.»

«What the fu...» he managed to mutter before the girl placed her hands on his cheeks, and smashed her lips on his. He tensed up, not sure how to react other than to become beet red and dropping the bottle and her hand.

Luna just watched in horror at what this random girl where doing, and seeing the panicked expression on his face as she pulled away, giving him a soft smile. «I can’t believe you are back, Gladion~.» she said cheerfully. After letting go of his face, she took a step back, and sat down in the chair opposite of them both, and just then looked over at Luna, who were looking quite unimpressed. «And who is that?» she asked, her voice being rather snarky and cold when she pointed at Luna.

Gladion wiped his lips on the sleeve, being quite disgusted by the actions the girl took. He cleared his throat and took a quick look over at Luna, who were not looking happy at the coldness from the girl. «Valeria...This is Luna, she’s my Fae...» he muttered, and kept wiping his lips.

«Oh...Pleasure.» she said, clearly not meaning it.

«Likewise...» Luna muttered back, doing her best to be polite. She then looked over at Gladion. «You need help with that?» she asked him.

He stopped wiping his lips and looked at her in surprise. «With what?» he asked, only to see her give him a smirk and licking her lips.. He became even more red and scoffed. «I’ll be fine, thank you very much!» he lightly hissed at her.

Luna just shrugged. «Ah well...» she said softly, taking the bottle and put it on her hand again.

«What were you two doing?» Valeria then asked, looking suspiciously at them.

Gladion looked over to her. «She’s hurt...» was all he managed to get out before she interrupted.

«Whatever...» She muttered.

Valeria looked around the office, muttering that it was bigger than she remembered. Luna then asked Gladion who that actually was in a hushed voice. «Valeria...My ex girlfriend...» he replied in a hushed voice, not sounding to proud of it, nor wanting to talk about it.

«Oh...» Luna replied, nodding lightly.

Valeria were sitting there, looking around the office and didn’t remember that it was as massive as this. Gladion picked up the water bottle he let go in panic and were about to grab her hand again, to which Luna just took the bottle off his hands, nodding over to the desk, gesturing for him to just get back to the desk and get working again.

«Thank you, but i can manage to do that myself.» she said softly, giving him a sweet smile.

«Right...» he muttered.

He got up from the couch and got over to the desk, sitting down again. Valeria moved over to the desk, leaning over and trying to get his attention. Luna were holding the bottle over her hand, just watching the situation in front of her, and couldn’t help herself to feel bad for Gladion, knowing that he liked his space. Valeria kept leaning over the papers, doing whatever she would to get his attention, only for him to hiss for her to stop and leave, as they didn’t have anything undiscussed.

«But Gladion~!» she whined loudly.

«Leave.» he hissed and stood up from the chair, pointing at the door. «Now.» he added, growling it.

Valeria just rolled her eyes. «Ugh...You are such a stuck up. No wonder why i left.» she added, and got up from the desk, turning around while giving Luna a glare as she passed her. «Have fun with your new toy.» she added as she stormed out of the office, slamming the door shut.

Gladion sat down in the chair again and sighed loudly, lighting growling to himself, running his hands over his face, lightly cursing. Luna just sat there in silence, watching him a little before she put the water bottle down to the table and got up from the couch, walking over to him. She walked up behind the chair, and wrapped her arms around him from behind. He flinched, as he didn’t notice her walk up.

«What are you doing?» he asked, clearly surprised by her actions.

«Giving you a hug.» she lightly replied.

«Why?»

«Because it looked like you needed one.» she replied, not moving.

«I can’t recall asking for one...» he muttered.

«Didn’t have to.» she softly replied. «As well as i have seen humans on the TV doing the same thing...So it just felt right.»

He didn’t fight it, which was something he usually would, instead, he just let her do it. He gave a soft sigh, feeling his cheeks heat up from the light touch from her skin. Luna gave a light giggle, which made him lightly blush. She moved her head up on top of his as Wicke walked in, wondering if everything was alright, seeing that his ex had stormed out of the building. Seeing that Luna were hovering over him, and him looking, somewhat, comfortable in her presence. Wicke just addressed the girl that left, smiling sweetly at the sight. Luna kept her head on top of his, her arms lightly wrapped around him, as well as her tail were lightly wagging behind her. Gladion just listened to Wicke, giving short and direct replies to her questions. Wicke noticed the faint blush on his cheeks and couldn’t help herself to give a soft giggle.

Wicke finished addressing the few things, including asking if the documents for the day were done, to which he just replied with ‘soon’. «That’s good.» she said softly, looking at Luna.

Luna just smiled sweetly. «Get off...» Gladion hissed.

«No~.» she replied, looking down at him with a mischievous smirk on her lips. Wicke giggled and excused herself, walking out of the office.

Gladion just ignored her to the best of his ability as he started on the documents again, getting through them. Luna kept herself hanging over him, but didn’t know what the papers said, or what they were good for.

«Why don’t you just use the computer to reply and stuff to papers like that?» she asked.

«Old school people don’t like using the computer. Other than that, i don’t know.» he replied, finishing the papers and collecting them into a bundle for Wicke to get the next day.

«Done for the day?» she then asked him, her voice sounding quite excited.

«Yeah, i actually am.»

She let go of him and clapped her hands in excitement. «Woo~!»

He sighed again and got up from the chair, taking a step away from it before stretching his back. He took a quick glance over at Luna, who were looking out of the windows behind them, her tail wagging. Probably because that she would finally get out of the place, even though she could have walked around on her own. Her ear moved towards him, and her head followed, meeting his gaze before she gave him a sweet smile. The blush on his face intensified, but gave her a soft smile back.

«Ready to leave?» he asked.

She nodded and hummed softly. «Whenever you are~.»

Leaving the office, and letting Wicke know that he were done and that the papers were laying on the desk. Getting outside, he loosened the tie and undid a few buttons on the shirt. Luna were walking by his side, as usual and were looking around, taking a few deep breaths from finally going outside. He could still tell that she were still thinking and acting like her feral self, which were a relief for him, knowing that she were, somewhat, still naive and probably wouldn’t get much still. Little did he know that it would take a full day for her to be more ‘human’ in a sense, at least after turning into her humanoid form that quickly. On the way back to the mansion, they stopped at a malasada shop, getting one each. Luna were curious on what that was, but didn’t hesitate taking a bite. Gladion were chewing on a bite of his as he looked over at her, seeing sparkles in her eyes, which indicated that she liked it. He couldn’t help himself to give a soft chuckle at her.

Munching on it on the way home, Luna got a rather strange feeling while passing the forest before the mansion, making her stop and look into it. Gladion continued forward a little, but when he noticed that she were falling behind, he stopped and looked back. «What? Something wrong?»

«I don’t know...Something just feels...off.» she replied, slowly walking up to him.

«Not sure what that means...but it’s probably nothing.» he said and started to walk off.

Luna hummed softly, walking after him. They eventually got to the mansion and got inside. Gladion quickly got up to his room, changing into casuals while Luna got into the living room, finding Lillie sitting and reading on the couch. She noticed that Luna came in and gave her a soft smile before looking down into the book again. Luna were standing behind her, keeping her eyes outside in the garden, the strange energy keeping her quite interested, as well as a little on edge. Gladion got down eventually, and saw Lillie, asking her how she were feeling after the events earlier. She said that she were fine, but still quite shaky. Gladion just apologized, feeling guilty for it happening.

«Not your fault.» she said softly to him.

«That i do know, but i can’t help feeling guilty.» he muttered.

Lillie giggled softly, and repeated what she had just said. Luna were listening to them, but kept her attention outside. The evening came, and Gladion were getting ready for bed, while Luna were on the balcony, still keeping her attention towards the forest.

«You have kept your attention towards the forest all evening...What’s going on?» Luna turned her attention around, seeing Gladion leaning up against the doorframe with his arms crossed. He met her eyes, which were emitting a faint glow, as well as being slitted. «What is going on?» he repeated.

«I don’t know...» she muttered, and fixed her gaze out again. «But i don’t like it...»

She took a deep breath, and jumped over the railings. Gladion hurried over, looking over and down at her. «What are you doing?»

«I’ll be back in the morning...» she muttered and walked off. Gladion just watched her walk off into the forest, disappearing into the shadows.


	20. From the Shadows

Luna continued a little further from the mansion before she stopped, taking a good look around. There was an eerie energy looming the air, and she clearly didn’t like it. Knowing that she was slightly hurt, she didn’t want to confront whoever or whatever that were looming, and decided to do a quick walk around the area of the mansion, using her magic to put up a protective barrier as she walked off. Tracing a few sings in the air, she put up the barrier, and had gone around the whole place, twice, to make sure there was no holes in her magic. She were about to head back, but stopped when hearing a twig crack behind her.

«Who’s there?» she hissed, turning around to face whoever or whatever that was there. «And don’t try anything...» she added with a growl.

«Ooh...Don’t be so snarky, Yami. It’s just me~.» were a playful voice saying as another Fable stepped out from behind a tree.

«Hikari...» she hissed. «What do you want? And stop calling me ‘Yami’ already.»

«Can’t do, as you are Yami after all my dear pup.» she muttered softly. «And i’m upset that you still don’t call me mom.»

«You have never been a mother to me anyway...» she hissed at her. «And to be fair... _ I _ was the one to raise  _ you _ .» Luna added.

Hikari scoffed and rolled her eyes. «Whatever you say, pup...whatever you say.» she looked at her. «Having fun with your human?»

«Why do you care?» Luna hissed. «It’s not like you have ever cared anyway.»

«Ohohoho...So snarky.» Hikari chuckled. «Let me put it like this...» she started, pausing for a long time before looking directly at her. «It stung when that girl kissed him, didn’t it?»

Luna’s eyes got wide as she stared at her, which was the reaction Hikari wanted. «What do you mean?» Luna asked, more or less already knowing the answer.

«I knew it...Already infected. You should be careful and not get deeper into the human emotions, Yami.» Hikari said. «It just means that you are infected, pup.»

Luna scoffed. «You keep talking about some ‘infection’, yet you never told me what that is. Care to elaborate for once?»

«No.» she replied, looking at her nails. «Ugh...I’m still surprised that my sister saved you those years ago...and i should have killed you off when i had the chance.» she said, giving Luna a glare.

«A bit too late to regret that now...» Luna replied, about to turn around and to start heading back to the mansion.

«I’ll warn you again...be careful with the human emotions...or rather...don’t be. You’ll turn into Yami even quicker then.» she murmured. «Not that i care...» she added, giving a mischievous chuckle.

Luna were about to launch at her, but as she looked over to find her, she was gone. She clenched her fists and growled to herself as she turned, walking off. On the way back, her mind were racing with what Hikari had said, about it stinging when the girl kissed him earlier that day. Luna did admit to herself that it was quite the shock at first, but couldn’t recall that it stung. She got more irritated over it, clenching her fists so hard that her nails broke the skin in her palms, as well as Hikari were known to tease on everything. Shaking her head a little, she walked into the garden and looked around, seeing that the door to Gladion’s balcony were the only door open, and her not wanting to set of an alarm or anything, she used that as her way in. She jumped up, and landed as silently as possible before walking in, seeing Gladion sound asleep. She silently walked past him towards the door, silently opening it and walked out. As she opened the door, Gladion woke up, hearing it slightly creak open. He opened his eyes and looked towards the door, seeing Luna on the other side as she closed it shut.

As the door got closed again, he sat up and kept his eyes on the door a little. She were back, but he were curious of what were going on and if anything had actually happened, as she were looking quite serious before she left a few hours earlier. He got up and stretched a little, walking over to the door. Placing his hand on the door handle, it felt quite warm and sticky as he opened it up, stepping out to the hallway and looked into his palm.

«Blood…?» he muttered to himself. «What have you been up to…?»

Clenching his fist, he closed the door and walked down to the main floor, finding her in the living room, just standing there as she gave a light sigh. He cleared his throat, which made her flinch and quickly turn around, facing him.

«What are you doing? And what have you done?» he asked, his voice quite stern sounding.

«I’m just...planning to sleep…?» she muttered.

He walked up to her and grabbed her wrists, opening up her hands and seeing blood, as well as four puncture wounds in her palms. He just looked at her. «Just sleep?» he asked, clearly being sarcastic as she asked while sounding quite serious.

Luna laughed nervously. «Yeah…?»

«Don’t believe you.» he hissed and dragged her with him into the kitchen, dumping her in a chair before he walked over to the counter, finding a first aid kit. «What did you do? And don’t make me ask again.»

Luna sighed and hung her head as he walked over to her. «Didn’t do much...just put up a protective barrier around the place...» she muttered.

He just hummed softly, opening the first aid kit, finding some bandage and taking her hand in his, starting to clean the small wounds. «And these…?»

«Bad habit of clenching my fists when doing it...» she muttered, looking down at her hands, while he held them gently.

He just sighed and shaked his head while cleaning her hands up, her right hand were quite swollen from the fight earlier the previous day. Gently patching up the small wounds, and putting bandage around her hands. Gladion eventually finished and packed the kit up, and just shoved it more onto the table before sitting back in the chair, crossing his arms. Luna studied the work he had done, looking down at her hands and couldn’t help herself to give a soft smile.

«Thank you.» she muttered softly, giving him a soft smile. «I’ll try and keep myself out of trouble...»

«Please do.» Gladion lightly hissed. Luna just gave a nervous giggle, twiddle her thumbs a little.

Gladion sighed and got up from the chair, running his hand through his bangs as he started to walk away. Luna just sat there, watching him walk off into the living room before he stopped and took a few steps back, looking over at her. «You coming or not?»

«I’ll just sleep in the living room...as i’m sure you don’t want me beside of you now.» she muttered, looking somewhat upset.

«Right...» he muttered as he didn’t think of that, being so used to her in her feral from, sleeping at the end of the bed. «Do what you want...» he added and walked off.

Luna just sighed, shrugging lightly. She got up from the chair and walked out to the living room. She weren’t sure what to do, as it seemed that he were sleeping peacefully when she came back, but since they arrived in Alola again, he had started to trash in his sleep again, which was quite common when she first became his Fae, as well as knowing that the fright of Lusamine being around, micro managing everything he did. She wasn’t around for the month, apparently, but they all didn’t know when she would get back, and that could be anytime. She stood around in the living room a little, hearing a door close, which was probably him getting his the bedroom again. She looked down at her hands again, her right looking like it’s twice the size of her left, which made her chuckle softly. She then decided to just sleep on the couch, hoping that no one will wake her up. She sat down, and dropped down to her side, curling slightly up while using her tail as a blanket.

Gladion got under the covers, and got comfortable. He tried for a while to fall asleep, but after a year of Luna laying there, he had gotten quite used to her being around. He kept tossing and turning, but ended up looking up at the ceiling, letting out a soft sigh.

«This is ridiculous...» he muttered to himself, and turned over to his side, giving another try to get some sleep for the rest of the night.

As Gladion finally managed to fall asleep, he didn’t have the best sleep, and almost in an instance starting to trash in his sleep. Luna quickly noticed and sat back up in the couch, looking in the direction of his room. She could sense that he were asleep, but as usual, it was a lot of turning and trashing. Her usual way to cope with it were to gently place her tail over him, though, since she were now humanoid, she didn’t really know what to do about it. She got up from the couch and made her way to his room, as she hated seeing him like that. She walked up the stairs and through the corridor to his room, and opened the door, walking in. As she were to get over to his side, he abruptly sat up, scaring her. Hearing her silent yelp, he looked up at her.

Meeting her spooked expression, he just frowned. «Thought you were sleeping in the living room.» he lightly hissed.

Luna just rolled her eyes. «I was, but it seems like a certain someone is missing me.»

He scoffed. «Yeah right...» he hissed.

She moved over to his side and sat down on the edge, forcefully headbutting him, which hurt slightly. «What the fuck was that for…?» he hissed, pressing his forehead against hers back. «You dumb dog...» he added.

She just gave a chuckle. «Bark bark.» she just replied. Her reply took him off guard, as he just stared at her. She giggled softly. «That’s what  _ bitches _ say, right?» she added.

Gladion hummed softly. «Some do, yes.» he replied, followed by a soft chuckle. They both sat back, chuckling lightly. He looked over at her, while a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. It was dark, so it wasn’t noticeable. «Sleeping here or going downstairs again?»

«Oh, i’m not going downstairs again...No chance.» she replied, shaking her head. «I’ll sleep on the floor if you want me to.» she said.

He just shaked his head. «No need to...It’s a king size after all.»

She just nodded and crawled over him, not wanting to get out and walk all over to the other side. Gladion tensed up, getting somewhat, of a good look at her as she did, despite her tail and the ears, she were quite attractive, he managed at least to admit that to himself. She prepped herself up under the covers on the other side, getting comfortable a she curled up, holding the sheets tightly and close. Gladion hesitated to lay down, but eventually did. He took a quick look over at her, seeing that her back were against him and she had already fallen asleep. He turned to his side, away from her and got as comfortable as possible. He was expecting something coming from her, but nothing did and he, himself, fell asleep, feeling rather safe again. He always had a hard time sleeping whenever being at home in Alola, knowing beforehand that Lusamine would usually be snarky and pick on him about something, so it was a blessing in disguise when she wasn’t around, but the tension and energy were still lingering, making it hard to fall asleep. After a while, and with a lot of trying not to move, he turned around, facing her and got comfortable again, falling asleep within a few minutes as his eyes grew heavy.


	21. New Clothes

Two days passed, and Gladion were at the office, going through documents as usual. Luckily, there wasn’t to many for the day, so he could get back to the mansion rather quick. Lillie had dragged Luna with her to do some shopping, which Gladion let her do, thinking that Lillie just needed someone to carry her bags, and lew key being happy that he wasn’t the one being around to carry them. Being around in Hau’oli City, Luna weren’t to happy being dragged around, only for Lillie to use her as a mannekeng for clothes she wanted to buy, as well as finding Luna some new clothes, telling her that she can’t wear the same thing all the time. Standing inside of a cloth store, Lillie were pointing at her, looking quite dissatisfied.

«You need more clothes now that you are in a humanoid form.» she hissed at her.

Luna nodded. «I get it...but what’s wrong with my clothes now...They are convenient...»

«They. Are. Ugly! I won’t allow you to wear...that!» she said and looked at her.

Luna nodded lightly again, not saying anything as Lillie grabbed her hand and dragged her with her to a rack of clothes, starting to find something that would be fitting for her. Looking over at her a few times, she decided that light colors were not her thing, considering her dark hair, tail and ears, as well as her feral were quite dark as well. Luna were standing there, looking around while playing with her hair, not sure what to do or how to act. Lillie kept looking through the clothes, taking a few with her before moving over to the next rack or shelf. Luna just followed timidly around with her, feeling that people and other Fae’s were giving her weird looks. They were giving her a few weird looks, mostly because of how timid she was, which was something they found weird for being a ‘Fae’ and owned by a human. Lillie went through the entire store, only to get dissatisfied with what she had found and put it all back, dragging Luna with her outside again.

«Why is it so hard to find clothes that fits you...» she groaned. Luna just hummed softly.

Lillie started to walk off, growling to herself and Luna tagged along, not sure what to do about the blonde female in front of her. Walking past many of the stores, Lillie stopped in front of the place Gladion used to shop at, looking inside a little before looking over at Luna with a glare. Luna lowered her ears, not sure why Lillie was giving her a glare, as she was sure that she didn’t do anything to deserve it.

«This will be the last place before we are going home...» she hissed and grabbed her wrist, dragging her with her inside. Luna just lightly yelped.

Back at the office, Gladion had finally gotten through the documents and gotten off the chair, stretching his back as he walked around the desk. Wicke had recently been there, collecting them. Faba had been around for once as well, just nitpicking on his way of doing the work. Gladion didn’t say much to the guy, and kept ignoring him to the best of his ability, though, there was always something that managed to irk him, which was something Faba were after in the first place. Irritating him to the point of getting something to slander to Lusamine whenever she got back. He walked out of the office with a sigh, loosening the tie and undo the few top buttons. He met Wicke in the hallway, who wished him the rest of the day a good one, giving him a sweet smile. He told her the same, as well as for her to not overwork, considering that she were always running around. She assured him that she would be fine, which he nodded at. Getting to the lobby, he started to wonder what Lillie were doing with Luna, as they had been out for most of the day already, and she would usually get her stuff quickly, then get home to try on everything. Getting back to the mansion, he heard Lillie telling Luna to stand still, while she were whining, muttering something back to her. He sighed, got up to his room and changed into casuals before getting down to the living room, seeing Sol and Hau sitting there, looking rather exhausted themselves.

«What the fuck are you two doing here?» he asked them both.

They both looked over at him, and gave a small wave. «Weren’t really planning to be here...but Lillie met us in Hau’oli and...things happened.» Hau said, shrugging.

«Seemed like the Fae were quite distressed as well...so i’m feeling a bit bad for her.» Sol said, grimacing.

«What are she doing to Luna?» he asked.

The two looked at him. «Luna? That’s her name?» Hau asked, tilting his head. Gladion confirmed and nodded. «Anyway...She’s dressing her up, and...She’s not liking it, so to speak.» he added.

Sol just nodded. «She didn’t know whenever you came back, and wanted us to judge the Fae’s outfits...»

«What…?» Gladion muttered, not really sure if he heard that right.

They could then hear Lillie mutter to Luna to be quiet and just deal with it, as it was necessary. «You need to look representable! Maybe Gladion don’t care...But i for sure do!» she hissed at her.

«But...Lillie...» she whined.

«No Buts!» she hissed at her again. «You got one outfit on, and it’s time to show Sol and Hau. Get their opinion.» she added.

«Opinion on what…?» she asked, muttering it.

«If you look good or not.» Lillie quickly added.

Lillie opened the door, and dragged her with her through the hallway and down the stairs. She stopped right before the door to the living room, making her wait outside as she would be going in and tell the two to get ready, not knowing that Gladion had gotten back already. She made her wait and walked in, getting surprised to see Gladion standing there, giving her a glare.

Lillie flinched when she saw him, placing her hand over her heart. «Oh my gosh...You scared me!» she said, followed by a soft sigh. «When you did you get back?»

Gladion took a quick look at the time on his phone. «About 30 minutes ago.» he replied.

She clapped her hands. «Great! Then you can judge Luna’s new outfits as well!»

The three boys just looked at each other and nodded, not sure what or why she were going it. Gladion had a hunch that she needed to get some criticism on it, as she would like to work in the fashion industry at some point. She made them get ready. Hau and Sol sitting in the couch, leaning over the back of it, whilce Gladion just sat there with his arms crossed as Lillie walked out to find Luna, only to not find her. She hissed and shouted after her, only to find her on top of the stairs again.

«Luna! Why are you hiding!?» she shouted up at her.

«I...I don’t want to...» she muttered, her voice slightly cracking from the distress she was in. Gladion just sighed softly, shaking his head.

Lillie stomped up the stairs, grabbed her wrist and dragged her down with her again. Luna were just whining softly, and kept on telling her to stop, which Lillie ignored as she dragged her down, and pulled her out in front of them, standing in the door. The boys were chatting between them, but stopped when Lillie dragged her out in front of them, looking at Luna, who were feeling quite uncomfortable. Lillie had managed to get her into a dark purple tank top, black faded jeans, and a dark blue jacket, with purple interior and black accents. Creating a matching look for her, which was also quite fitting for her. Sol and Hau were quite impressed, and praised Lillie for actually finding something that were matching, as they knew that she just wanted the praise. Gladion just looked at her slightly wide eyed, a faint blush appearing, which he quickly scoffed off, looking away. Luna were looking quite uncomfortable, pulling the top down, her ears laying down on her head and her tail curled up around her legs. Lillie were looking quite proud at what she had managed to pull off, and Hau and Sol’s reaction were exactly what she wanted, not noticing that Gladion were, more or less, having a hard time looking at Luna.

Luna slowly scooted over to the side, getting out of their sight. She wasn’t used to wearing clothes, and for being all covered up, which she usually wasn’t, she had never felt as naked as just now. Lillie noticed that she had moved out of sight, and walked up towards her, only to drag her in front of them again, and inside the living room.

«Lillie...Can’t you see that she’s uncomfortable?» Gladion lightly hissed at her, doing his best to fight the growing blush on his cheeks.

Lillie looked at him. «Come on...She looked good though, right?» she asked.

«She does...» he muttered. «Now...I didn’t let you drag my Fae with you to make her uncomfortable.» he added, lightly hissing it to her.

«I’m sorry...I just got excited when she finally showed her humanoid form...and she does need some clothes though! All the other Fae’s are wearing normal clothes, and knowing them...They’ll most likely make fun of her if she’s not.» Lillie said, crossing her arms while looking at him.

Luna’s face got beet red when she heard him mutter that she did look good, wanting to sink through the flooring if possible. She kept her tail wrapped tightly around her legs as Lillie walked up to her side. «Stop looking like that. You need to own what you are wearing! Like a boss!» she told her quite sternly.

«But...Lillie...» she muttered.

«Come on, Luna!» she told her, and poked her cheek. «You need to own it.»

«Lillie...Just let her be.» Gladion said to her, giving Luna a quick look, seeing that she was utterly uncomfortable.

«You tell her then, Gladion! She’s your Fae after all!» she hissed at him.

«I frankly don’t care...As long as she’s comfortable, that’s all that matters.» he replied to her, his voice being quite serious.

Hau and Sol were just sitting there, exchanging looks as the two siblings kept ‘arguing’ about it. The two just shrugged and let them go on about it, knowing fully well that their arguing were pretty pointless, but knowing the two blonde siblings, it was their way to communicate whenever they were around each other. Luna just kept standing there, looking uncomfortable and exchanged looks at them whenever the other replied to each other. The household butler came in, hearing the arguing, but knew it was common. He just reassured Luna that it was normal, and that she just had to let it pass. As well as telling her that if she’s not comfortable, she should get comfortable.

«You are a part of the family now, after all.» he said and gave her a warm smile.

As he gave her a light pat on her shoulder, he walked up to the two young adults, were the arguing were starting to get quite heated and overboard. Hau and Sol excused themselves, starting to walk out of the living room, knowing that this would take a while. They said goodbye to Luna before leaving the mansion, laughing softly. Luna gave them a small nod as they left before looking over at the two, listening to the butler carefully a little before Lillie scoffed, crossed her arms and looked away from Gladion, being quite upset about the whole ordeal, which had turned into personal attacks to both of them. Gladion were frowning, keeping his hands in the pockets while giving off a soft scoff. After a while of the butler calming them down, the two both left the room, being quite pissed at each other.

The household butler gave a soft sigh, shaking his head. «We already knew that this would happen.» he muttered softly.

Luna just tilted her head. «Umm...How so?»

He gave her another warm smile and offered her some tea while he would explain the past to her. At least from his point of view. Luna accepted and followed him to the kitchen, forgetting about being shy and uncomfortable in the new clothes Lillie had picked out for her. She didn’t really know what to expect, but knew a little beforehand about what had happened to Gladion. Not so much about Lillie though. She sat down at the breakfast island in the kitchen, while he started to brew her some tea and starting to talk about their past, being sure that he used a hushed voice, not wanting to let them hear that he were giving off some personal information about their family life.


	22. Letting In

The household butler told her that most of it started when Gladion were a young boy, and supposedly had an imaginary friend that he loved to play with and couldn’t stop talking about. Their father, who were present at the time didn’t mind it, while Lusamine found it rather irrational and a bad behaviour. Since Mohn were around, Lusamine didn’t do much other than to scold him and kept telling him to act his age. Mohn knew it was a regular behaviour for a child his age at the time, and the fact that Gladion couldn’t stop talking about this friend of his were quite humorous at times, speaking so highly of this friend of his. Luna felt warm and fuzzy, already knowing that it was her, as she could remember it like it all happened yesterday, and were quite surprised that he actually spoke highly of her. Without saying that it was her, she asked what he did say.

«Well...He was quite fascinated that this ‘friend’ of his had nine tails and ears like a fox.» he chuckled softly.

He then continued that he kept the friend around for a few years, until Mohn, their father, disappeared. It took a great toll on him, as well as his ‘imaginary’ friend disappeared at the same time, which clearly made it harder for him to cope with everything, as well as starting to blame Fae’s and Fables for his father for disappearing, thinking that they on purpose took him away. Lusamine slowly going from scolding to light hits, and as he got to his early teens, he ran away, trying to get away from everything. Luna felt herself getting heart broken, as she didn’t mean to just disappear at the time, but her guardian, Hikari, who were raising her to some extent kept her away from him, telling her about some ‘infection’ that were dangerous. Which Luna didn’t know anything about, and took that as a plain lie, considering that she were around him and humans in general now. As Hikari kept her away, and moved her to a different region, Luna felt bad for years, making it her personal goal to find him again and properly apologize, only that she didn’t manage to do it, and ended up offering herself up to be his Fae for three years, while he were in College. She didn’t know why, but it was a way for her to compensate for the ‘lost time’ she felt she had to get back.

The butler kept on going that after he ran away, Lillie started to feel abandoned and started to slightly resent him for leaving her alone, not knowing what he had been through. After around two years, Lusamine found him again, and dragged him home, as well as the abuse escalated. As the abuse continued, Lillie were quite sheltered from it, not seeing or hearing what happened, only that Gladion kept getting depressed and keep to himself. He kept telling her that getting away fro College were his way to get away from everything, kinda starting anew with new people and in a new region. Luna were shocked at what she heard, but could understand the way he acted, though, there was something she didn’t get about him.

_ Why did he let her in? _

She sighed, and the butler placed a cup of tea in front of her. «Sorry for taking so long to make it. Here you go. Something to wash the bad taste away with.» he said, giving her a warm smile.

Luna gave him a soft smile back, thanking him for the tea and started to sip on it, going through what she had just heard. The butler bowed and excused himself, saying that he had some chores to take care of. Luna nodded and watched him walk out of the kitchen, while she took another sip. As she sat there, sipping on the tea, which were quite sweet, she heard the front door open and Lillie’s voice, saying that she’s going out and will be gone for a while, not wanting to be around. She couldn’t help but to frown as she left, almost slamming the door shut, but also understood that she was hurt in a way. She finished the tea and got off the chair, finding her way to the stairs and making her way to his room. She stopped in front of the door, hesitating a little as she could hear him pace around, growling to himself and muttering that coming back to Alola were a bad idea. She took a deep breath and opened the door, walking in and closing the door behind her.

Gladion looked over at her, looking somewhat surprised. «And what do you want?» he snarled. Luna didn’t say anything as she hurried over to him, and wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. He tensed up, getting beet red and didn’t know what to do, slightly panicking.

«I’m sorry.» she muttered softly.

Her apologizing caught him off guard, and he tensed down a little. Just looking down at her, he didn’t know why she would be apologizing as she didn’t do anything wrong. «Why are you apologizing…?» he muttered. «You have literally nothing to apologize for as you did nothing wrong earlier.»

«Maybe not...» she replied softly, her voice muffled as she had her face planted in his chest.

«Then why are you apologizing?» he hissed.

«Because you need it.» she muttered softly.

«What…?» he muttered, his eyes being wide from surprise.

She kept holding around him tightly and muttering that she was sorry and started apologized for what had happened to him, how Lusamine had been treating him throughout the years, and that he had to get back to Alola just to, somewhat, relive those memories. She kept repeating it, tightening the grip around him as she kept on going. He hesitated, but he slowly let his guard down and wrapped his arms around her, and as did, he unconsciously tightened the grip around her, burying his face in her neck. Luna didn’t mind, knowing fully well that he had never gotten a proper hug from anyone, much less, and apology for whatever that he had been through in the past and were still dealing with.

«James said something, didn’t he…?» he muttered.

«Maybe.» she replied softly.

He scoffed lightly, but kept holding around her tightly. It felt rather nice, having someone who actually cared for once, but it was a strange feeling for him, not being used to it. Gladion had gotten so used to be alone with himself that it was strange having a Fae around him, but by her being utterly persistent and quite annoying, he found himself enjoying her company. They stood there for a while, just being close in each others embrace.

Letting go of each other, she cupped his cheeks. «You feeling better? Even a little?» she asked, looking worried up at him.

He just gave her a soft smile. «Yeah...more or less.» he muttered softly.

She nodded and gave him a warm smile. «Good. Can’t have it any other way.»

«Can you stop cupping my cheeks now…?» he asked, a faint blush starting to appear.

«No.» she replied and squished his cheeks more, giving a soft giggle. He sighed softly and grabbed hers, dragging them out. «Ow...» she muttered, but she knew it was coming.

«I’ll stop when you stop.» he lightly hissed.

«Ow...» she kept on muttering, only to meet his emerald eyes.

He had already gotten his frown back, and she knew it was because of her. In an attempt to make him loosen up the grip, she put her tongue out while narrowing her eyes slightly. He scoffed and pulled her cheeks harder, which made her let go on him. As she let go of him, he let go of her, just as he said. She rubbed her cheeks gently, pouting slightly.

«That’s what you get.» he said to her, putting his hands in his pockets.

She just pouted more at him. «I know...But you didn’t have to pull so hard...»

«You get what you sow.» he flatly replied to her, walking past her. She just growled to herself as he walked out, making her follow him while still rubbing her cheeks, as they were feeling a bit sore.

He puffed her cheeks, and gave a light growl at him. «True...but still...» she muttered. Seeing that he were looking rather pissed still, she decided to play a little with him. «Catch me.» she said.

He stopped and turned around to face her. «What?»

«Catch me.» she repeated and launched at him.

He panicked as she launched at him. «Wait....Wait wait wait!»

She jumped, forcing him to catch her, princess style. She wrapped her arms around his neck, looking rather comfortable and proud, now that he wasn’t frowning anymore, but had a surprised look on his face. She poked his cheek and giggled, which made his frown just come back.

«What are you doing…?» he asked her, followed by a soft sigh.

She giggled softly. «Getting that frown of your face.» she said and poked him between his eyebrows. She then pointed in front of them. «Now...Onward, human!»

«I’m not taking orders from a dumb dog.» he told her flatly.

«Oh? Do you need fuel?» she asked, giving him a mischievous smirk.

«Fuel?» he questioned, looking at her, seeing that she were licking her lips. He swallowed thickly. «Onward we go then...» he muttered.

«Yay~!» she exclaimed.

Gladion just turned around, and walked back into his room, and threw her onto the bed, making her yelp. He chuckled lightly when seeing her annoyed expression, hissing at him that this was not what she meant. «What did you mean then?» he asked, crossing his arms.

«For you to just carry me downstairs…?» she said, puffing her cheeks.

«That’s to far away.» he replied, smirking softly.

«You are no fun...» she muttered.

«News flash for you! I’m not meant to be fun..» he added, rolling his eyes.

«Ooh~? You sure about that? You are plenty of fun when you are drunk though...» she said, smiling mischievously at him, wagging her tail slightly.

He just narrowed his eyes at her. «You don’t say...» he lightly hissed.

She laid down on her back, only to turn around to her front. She sighed and kept telling him that he were always fun whenever he were drunk, as he would say the most dumbest stuff and nonsense. Gladion crossed his arms and lowly got more and more irritated at what she were telling how he was, as he certainly wasn’t to proud of those moments. Growling to himself, he kept looking at her tail, which was swaying softly from side to side, to the point it started to annoy him. He grabbed her tail and pulled it, only for her to let out a soft moan. Gladion just looked at her with big eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands, both getting beet red. She slowly turned her head, looking at him with a small pout, and he quickly let go of her tail.

«Sorry...» he muttered, placing his hand over his face and looking away from her.

«It’s fine...» she muttered. «You couldn’t know  _ that _ ...» she added.

He didn’t know how to reply, so he just started to gesture that he would be leaving the room. He hurried out, being a flustered mess as he walked down the hallway, not sure how to properly react to what just happened. Luna kept laying there, planting her face in the bed, being just as flustered as him, if even more. He got to the stairs and stopped, running his hand over his face.

«What the hell just happened…?» he muttered to himself.

Thinking through it a little, it would be quite common for her tail to be a sensitive spot, as well as for most Fae’s to have their tail to be as such. He was standing there, being beet red while going through it in his mind, trying to find a logical explanation for her reaction. It could be a real reaction or she could be messing with him, which was the reason to being with, considering that she were acting rather playful. Luna were still laying in the bed, being beet red as well and hoping that he would just think she was messing with him, knowing that she wasn’t. Her reaction was a genuine as it could be, but decided to tell him that she was faking it, avoiding the awkwardness that would probably follow.


	23. Three marks on each Cheek

The month passed, and Gladion and Luna were getting ready to board the plane. After tail pulling incident, Luna did tell him that she faked it and just wanted a reaction. He hissed at her for never do that again, which she nodded at, apologizing that she did it. Since that was week ago, things went more or less back to normal. Lillie and Gladion were also talking again, and Luna had gotten a better understanding of their relationship, which was rather a strange one for being siblings in her mind.They were always on the warpath, and ready to sent a snarky remark at each other, which Luna didn’t understand why, but didn’t interrupt them either, knowing fully well that it was quite common. Lillie were watching them get onto the plane, and didn’t want to admit that she would be missing them and kept a strong facade.

Getting into the plane and get a seat, Gladion started to wonder how Luna would take the flight over now, since she were in her humanoid form. She sat down opposite of him, and looked quite calm. She put the belt on, as well as he did when some of the staff came into the plane, getting themselves ready. The pilots got in into the cockpit, and started up the engine and generally getting ready for take off. Gladion looked over at Luna, who were looking outside of the window, looking rather calm.

«You going to be okay on this flight?» he asked.

Luna looked over at him and smile softly. «I’ll be fine. It’s way scarier in my feral form...i can admit that at least.» she said, followed by as soft giggle.

«How come?» he asked, wondering why it was scarier in a feral form.

«Oh you know...Smaller brain, and no other ‘safety’ than the floor.» she said, giving him a knowingly look.

«Right...Dumb question.» he replied, shaking his head.

Luna just gave a soft giggle. «It’s fine.»

Being comfortable in their seats, the plane took off and they were on their way to the next region, being there for the rest of the summer before the new college semester were starting. Luna had also gotten used to ‘regular clothes’, as Lillie put it, even though there was a few things that she didn’t like, mostly underwear and lingerie in general. She wore it because Lillie had said so, and it was uncomfortable, but lived through it the best she could. Gladion had noticed a slight change in how she were talking, which were more mature and human-like, not like it was at the beginning of the vacation, and her feral form. It was easier to have a conversation with her as well, knowing that she wouldn’t start do anything that would either make the situation awkward or make the conversation utterly weird. While being in Alola, she had gotten help from the cooks and the household butler to make food, being in a humanoid form, and low key hating that Gladion couldn’t cook, she took it upon herself to get some practice and get better at it.

She had gotten down a most of the basics, and the cooks were quite impressed that a ‘Fae’ were interested in it at all, but they didn’t mind teaching her, finding it fun, as well as she wasn’t a Silky, who were just using magic to make food or to do regular household stuff. She had already made a few dishes for dinner, which Lillie and Gladion found quite tasty and were impressed. Gladion were low key happy that he probably didn’t have to cook much anymore for two, and would most likely let Luna do it if she wanted to. A few days prior, Faba had been around at the mansion with Wicke, looking after some papers in Lusamine’s home office, only to meet Gladion while having the day off for once. Faba, as usual, would get quite snarky with him, getting Gladion quite annoyed. Wicke managed to defuse the tension by asking him where Lusamine possible could have put certain documents. Gladion just replied with that they would usually be in the drawer, which would be locked or in some folder.

The flight were, as usual, very long. Gladion were mostly busy on his phone, and occasionally slept. Luna were awake most of the time, and as they landed, she were pretty tired and kept nodding off on the taxi drive over to the complex. Getting out of the taxi, and up to the apartment again, she just headed straight for the bed after dropping her bag, which was something she didn’t leave with. Gladion just chuckled and walked in with her, unpacking his bag. Putting his stuff away and putting the bag away, he just looked at her, who went out like a light when she hit the pillow. She didn’t even bother to get under the duvet. Not wanting her to freeze, he got over to the side she slept on and managed to pull the duvet over her, only to stop and get a good look at her face. He gently brushed some of her hair strands away from her face, seeing the three stripes on her cheek. He had noticed them before, but never really got a good look at them, before now. He gently traced one with his index finger, not wanting to wake her up. As he did, he unconsciously couldn’t get over how soft her skin were feeling. Knowing that her tail and ears were, more or less, feeling like silk, he didn’t anticipate that her skin would feel the same. He flinched and removed his hand from her as her tail moved, getting panicked that he had woken her up. As it was only her tail that were moving, he sighed softly in relief, pulling the duvet more over her before leaving the room, starting to gain a blush on his cheeks. The last month had been weird, mostly because of her being in her humanoid form, and him getting used to it. He was, more or less, used to it for now and it felt strangely natural as well, which he found slightly weird. He got out to the living room, and over to the kitchen area, taking a look in the ridge. Most of the food there had gone bad, so he got a bag and started to clean it out, as well as just thinking on getting something new as well while being downstairs with the trash.

He cleaned the fridge, got shoes and and grabbed his wallet and keys and walked out of the apartment, heading downstairs with the trash, and then heading towards the nearest market. On the way to the store, despite it being midday, there was very little people around. It was summer, and vacation, so most people were probably on vacation or at the beach, but it was still a little odd that there wasn’t that many around. He shrugged it off as he walked into the store, wandering around for a few basic things, already knowing that Luna might get other things at a later time. Getting around the store and finishing getting the things, he paid and then left, feeling himself growing tired. He did sleep on the flight over, but as much as he did sleep, he didn’t sleep well as usual. On the way over to the complex again, he noticed that there was a lot of Fae’s wandering around alone, only a few people either in front of them or behind them. It was quite odd, but it was probably normal in this region, so he just let it pass as that. Getting inside the complex, taking the elevator up and finding his way to the apartment again, he unlocked the door and got inside, not seeing Luna anywhere in the kitchen, nor in the living room. Getting the items into the fridge he got over to the bed room, seeing her still laying there sound asleep. He just looked at her a little before getting out to the living room again, taking place on the couch while looking outside the windows. He leaned back, resting his head on the edge of the couch and closed his eyes, just wanting to rest without sleeping. It didn’t take to long before he actually fell asleep.

He woke up a few hours later, groaning softly as he sat up properly in the couch. He ran his hand over his face, looking straight ahead of him, out the windows. «Slept well?»

He hummed softly and looked behind him, seeing Luna sitting at the dinner table, eating. «More or less...» he muttered, followed by a yawn. As he woke up a little more, he could smell whatever she had made, and were currently eating. «What did you make?» he asked.

«A simple ‘chicken curry in a hurry’ as it’s called.» she said and took another bite of it. She nodded to the counter behind her. «Serve yourself. I hope tastes alright.» she added.

He nodded and got up from the couch and started to walk over to the kitchen counter, to take a look. «I’m sure it’s good...As it smells good.» he said and looked at it.

He didn’t hesitate to take a bowl and get some for himself, getting a fork and start eating. He wasn’t to surprised, but it still, somewhat, surprised him that it tasted good. He leaned against the counter and ate, looking around the apartment. It was still light outside, but it was evening, and they had both slept away the day. While they both were eating, both of them let out a sigh in unison, which made them look at each other and just snort lightly, followed by a chuckle.

«Let’s just focus on getting the sleeping routine in...» she muttered softly.

«I can agree on that.» he replied and took another bite of the curry.

Luna finished and got up from the chair and walked past him to the sink, washing it and putting it down for the time being. She passed him again and got over to the couch and sat down, curling her tail around her. Gladion’s eyes just followed her, automatically going down to her rear, watching the movements as she walked by and in front of him. He haven’t noticed it himself, but after she got into her humanoid form, he had been looking at her more, generally looking her over. He finished the bowl of curry she had made, washed it and put it in the sink as well and walked over to her, sitting down at the other side of the couch while reaching for the TV remote, putting on the TV. Switching channels, they ended up with watching the local channel that were reporting on the battles taking place in the battle dome. It wasn’t to interesting, other than the different areas that were used in the different battles. Luna wasn’t to impressed by the fights, though, she found the fields and areas interesting looking and somewhat fun to experience at some point.

«Interested in those battles?» he asked, as she were listening and watching quite carefully.

«It’s just...Intriguing really.» she replied, giving him a sweet smile. «I know you don’t like doing battles like that.»

«It’s not that i don’t like them...i just find them pretty pointless...You don’t get anything other than a trophy and a title or something.» he replied, shrugging.

«Knowing you, you probably want that...Just to have something to show off and be proud off.» she said, giving him a mischievous smile.

He just gave her a glare, which made her giggle softly. «What makes you think that?» he lightly hissed.

She giggled softly. «It’s in your nature.» she said softly.

He scoffed and shaked his head. «Whatever...Though they did tell us in class before the summer vacation started that we’ll most likely visit the battle dome before Christmas or something.»

«They did?» she asked, her ears perking up. «Why didn’t i hear that…?» she muttered.

«You were sleeping.» he replied quickly.

«Oh...That makes sense.» she added, followed by a sheepish chuckle. He just hummed and nodded, keeping his eyes at the TV screen.

They kept watching the show, generally just talking about it and Gladion explaining in short a few different things that she didn’t understand about it, as well as her giving her opinion on the different strategies being used and how they won’t work towards a certain Fae. In theory, they started to get up strategies of their own, already knowing that they would be visiting the battle dome, and probably get a chance to have a few battles, so they better be prepared for whenever that happens. Luna did mention that she had never used her full power in battle, as she didn’t want to exploit that she was a Fable, which could cause him trouble. He reassured her that it would be fine, as long as she didn’t overdo anything.

She giggled softly. «I’ll do my best, but i can’t promise anything...depending on the situation that is.»

«Of course. Can’t have you hurt.» he muttered.

She smiled sweetly at him. «Aww...Worried about me?» she asked teasingly.

«Hah! You wish.» he hissed, rolling his eyes.

He didn’t want to admit it, but he were sure that he would be worried. Of course, she’s a Fable and a strong one at that, but he couldn’t help to worry because of her small and petite frame. Being the first time he met her as a massive, and quite intimidating beast, only to get used to her being the size of a St. Bernards breed, and now her humanoid form, which only threw him off, finding her attractive. He bit his lower lip, trying to shake the thought of her being pretty out of his mind, which would prove to be hard, knowing that she were living there with him after all.


	24. Beach Time

A few days passed, and they both had gotten used to a new daily routine. Gladion were just taking a stroll outside this day, just generally looking around. Luna were in the apartment, not really doing much, other than watch some shows on the TV that she found interesting, especially being interested in the beach scenes that were showing up. Her ears were perking up everytime, being a little envious that the people in the show were outside, having fun, while she were sitting inside, not doing anything. She started to sulk a little, puffing her cheeks. Gladion walked into the apartment while she started to whine lightly, but stopped right away and turned to face him.

«Gladion…?» she whined at him.

«What?» he muttered dryly.

«Can we go out?» she asked, tilting her head a little.

«I have just been out.» he lightly hissed.

«I don’t what you have been doing...But i want to visit the beach. Can we go?» she asked, her tail slightly starting to wag a little.

«No.» he flatly replied to her.

She growled and puffed her cheeks. «Why?» she hissed.

«Because there will be a shit ton of people, and most likely no space.» he added, trying to avoid the conversation.

«I don’t believe you.» she added, hissing it at him. She sighed and hung her head down, sukling. «You are always like this...» she muttered, her ears laying flat on her head.

«You don’t even have a swimsuit...» he muttered.

«I know...» she replied.

He just looked over at her, seeing her somewhat upset expression, starting to feel bad, as she had been inside since they arrived back to the apartment. «Tomorrow.» he quickly muttered, walking over to the kitchen to grab a soda can and opening it.

Luna perked her ears up and looked over at him with sparkles in her eyes. «Really!?» she exclaimed, her tail violently wagging behind her.

He just hummed softly, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks from seeing her so excited. «You need a swimsuit first...or something...» he said, muttering the latter.

She clapped her hands in excitement. «Yay~!» she exclaimed and had the biggest smile on her face, wiggling her body while trying to sit still on the couch.

Gladion sipped on the soda, keeping his eyes on her as hei blush intensified by her smile. She then asked him on when she they would get out to get her a swimsuit, as she needed it today and not tomorrow, when leaving for the beach. Gladion hoped that she had already forgot and just muttered that they would leave a little later, still hoping that she would forget it, as he didn’t want to visit the beach. Luna turned back to watch the TV, being all smiles while Gladion sat down at the dining table, sipping on the soda while looking through his phone, just checking some news and a few other things about Aether and if Lusamine had gotten back, as she wasn’t when he left. While going through news about Aether and other general news from the region, he looked over at Luna a few times, seeing her looking happy and having a soft smile on her lips. She had her eyes on the TV, and on occasion looking outside of the window, looking even more happy. After an hour, Luna started to be suspicious and took a quick glance over at him.

«Gladion…?» she muttered.

«What?» he replied dryly.

«Did you say tomorrow in hopes that i would forget?» she asked.

He looked over at her, only to see her glare. He swallowed thickly, shaking his head. «What made you think that?» he asked, trying to play it off. She just hummed softly, which made him nervous, doing his best to keep his eyes down on his phone. She kept humming softly until he lost it. «I’m done with whatever i was doing...so let’s just get going and get your swimsuit...» he muttered in a hurry, putting his phone into his pocket.

«Alright~.» she replied cheerfully, still having her eyes narrowed while glaring at him.

After a few minutes, they were out of the complex and on their way to the shopping district, Gladion silently growling to himself while Luna were happily skipping beside him. Getting to a store, he just stood there feeling quite awkward while she were looking around. One of the store ladies eventually came up to her and helped her to find something fitting. After a while, she found something she liked and paid for it, letting the awkwardness getting the best of him. They got out, Luna looking happy and him as awkward as possible.

_ You got what you wanted...now please forget before tomorrow comes… _

«Thank you~.» she cheerfully told him, giving him a sweet smile and holding the small bag close to her.

«Don’t mention it.» he muttered. Luna giggled, knowing that he were feeling out of place, but she was overrun by the excitement of going to the beach.

**\----------**

The next day came quickly, and they were both on their way to the beach. Gladion wasn’t to happy about it, and Luna knew, and did act excited on purpose, just to drag him with her, as she didn’t want him to be left alone, knowing that he would dive into his own mind, which would end up in a disaster. She had at least managed to persuade him to join her, as she didn’t want to go alone. He agreed, but made it clear that he wouldn’t join her with anything else than to just sit around in the shade. Luna just rolled her eyes at him, but agreed. At least he was tagging along. Walking through the streets, they eventually got to the beach, which was somewhat packed and made Gladion want to just turn around. Luna linked her arm with him, so he couldn’t run away, which made him growl a little.

«We just need to find a spot. It can’t be to hard.» she said cheerfully.

«I’m going to die...» he muttered to himself.

She dragged him with her while looking for a shaded spot, and found one, and she hurried over to the spot, dragging him with her while he lightly growled. Finding the towles, they put them down and sat down on them, looking around a little before Gladion sighed and laid down, placing his arms behind his head. Luna kept sitting up, looking around at the many people and Fae’s wandering around, seemingly having fun. Gladion had on some dark sunglasses, so it was hard to see where he was looking, but he kept looking up at Luna, wondering why she wanted to go to the beach in the first place. She were wearing a light summer dress that Lillie probably had picked out for her when they were in Alola, and he just couldn’t stop eyeing her down. Her long hair softly flowing in the gentle breeze, along with the dress, which was gently covering her. He flinched and quickly looked away from her when someone from his class called for his name and walked over.

«Hey, Gladion! Thought you were in Alola.» he said, grinning widely.

«Got back a few days ago...» he muttered and sat up. Luna looked over and slightly tilted her head.

The guy saw her and got impressed. «Ooh~. New Fae?» he asked, sitting down beside him.

«No.» Gladion flatly replied. «She just decided to get into her humanoid form back in Alola.»

«Woha, now that’s a nice catch.» he said, nodding. His Fae, who was a male Kitsune were eyeing her down, swallowing thickly while trying to hide it’s growing blush.

Gladion and his fellow classmate were talking, even though Gladion had no intention to continue the conversation, his classmate just started a new topic. The Kitsune did eventually get the courage to ask Luna to join in the water, just to practice some water spells with him, since that’s what he needed to work on. Luna smiled sweetly and agreed. She got up on her feet and stripped off the summer dress, revealing herself in the newly bought black bikini she got the day prior. The three males were eyeing her, especially Gladion, who had to pick up his own jaw before it became to visible for the others around him. The male Kitsune and Luna then walked down to the water, and proceeded to do a little practice. Not knowing that she was a Kyuubi were hard to mask, as she could use most types of magic, and had to act a clumsy and like she didn’t know to much about it. Gladion and his classmate kept muttering a few words here and there while looking at their Fae’s just doing what they do best.

«You sure you ain’t woo-ing her?» he asked Gladion, wiggling his eyebrows at him.

Gladion just sent him a glare. «You know that’s as taboo as it can get, right?» he just replied.

«Yeah...But she might be a  _ Wild Card _ . Heard about those?» he replied to him in a hushed voice.

Gladion put the sunglasses up to his head, just looking at the guy with the most confused look he can get. « _ Wild Card _ ? What the hell is that?»

The guy just grinned and nodded. «It’s something we are going to learn this semester, but i got curious and looked through it.» he said, shrugging. «It’s basically a Fae, or a Fable, that can turn into a human...Forever.» he added, nodding. «Hell, if you ain’t, i might just enable my Fae to try and woo her.» he said and looked over at them, just practicing some easy water spells.

Gladion looked over, and as he did, Luna stumbled and the Kitsune caught her, asking if she was alright and that they could stop if she needed a break. She landed in his arms and planted her face in his chest, which irked Gladion the wrong way when she backed off a little, giving him a soft smile, muttering that she was sorry that she was so clumsy. She got back on her feet and told the Kitsune that they could get going again, and that she would get a hang out of it eventually. They kept on going for a while, at least until the Kitsune were rather out of breath, as it were taking a great toll on him.

«Oh? That’s to bad. Let’s take a break then.» she said, smiling sweetly.

«Y-yeah...sorry...» the Kitsune muttered, a blush appearing on his cheeks from her smile.

She reassured him that it was fine as they walked up to the two others. Gladion was doing his best not to look at her as she sat down beside him and found the bag she had dragged with her, digging into it. She dug up a few sandwiches she had made before they left, which Gladion didn’t know off. She handed one over to the two others and then one to Gladion, who looked a bit surprised.

«When did you make these?» he asked.

«Some time before we left.» she replied.

The guy and the Kitsune exchanged looks. «Wait...Your Fae can cook?» he exclaimed.

The two looked at him with big eyes. Luna gave a sweet smile while Gladion nodded slightly. «Yeah, she can.» he flatly replied and took a bite of the food.

He gasped. «That’s amazing! And the first time i have ever heard of a Fae, beside a Silky, that can cook. Wow!»

Luna just gave a nervous chuckle, as she didn’t like getting compared to other Fae’s or Fable’s. Gladion just nodded and took another bite of it. The two other hesitated, but were impressed on how good it was tasting, considering that they kept muttering with food in their mouth that she was good, maybe even better, than some Silkies. The two wolfed down the food and decided to leave, as they had other people waiting for them. Gladion nodded and Luna politely said goodbye and told the Kitsune that he should keep on practicing, which he just nodded, giving her a warm smile. Gladion noticed her smile and scoffed without noticing, which made Luna look over at him in surprise, but she thought she figured him out.

«Jealous are we?» she asked lightly.

«Tch. You wish.» he replied, hissing it.

«Ooh~. We are~.» she murmured and leaned over to him. «How come~?»

«Get away from my face.» he hissed, glaring at her.

«No~. And beside...those glares of yours don’t work on me.» she lightly murmured and leaned closer.

Gladion just sat there, a growing blush on his face as he looked over at her, Luna now being incredibly close, their noses almost touching. She had a faint blush on her cheeks as well, but she were just teasing, while his face got even more red the closer she got.

«Well ain’t you fun~.» she said and giggled. She leaned back again, smiling sweetly at him. «It’s so fun to tease you~.» she added.

Gladion got beet red and wanted to drown when he looked out at the sea. «Don’t push it...» he hissed. «I might just start myself...»

«Hah! I would like to see you try~.» she murmured, waving her hand at him.

«Right...» he muttered, a smirk growing on his lips.

_ Game on then...Game on. _


	25. Close

Thinking that it was  _ Game On _ from now on, he made sure that she would get as red as possible, and he for sure wanted to see it. While she kept giggling softly he reached for her chin and moved her over to look at him, while he moved closer, a smirk on his face. Luna stopped and just looked at him as she came closer, her eyes growing wide and her cheeks getting more and more red as he got close. Their noses were slightly touching and her breath were slowly starting to get heavy as a smirk grew on his lips. Their eyes met, which made Gladion nervous, looking into her grey eyes, framed by her long eyelashes. He swallowed thickly and decided to quickly get it over with and hummed softly.

«You really think i can’t play along?» he said, giving her a smirk as their lips were as close as they could get without touching each other.

«Huh…?» she muttered, her cheeks incredibly red and looking quite confused..

He leaned back, moving away from her and chuckled. «You really thought that would happen? You dumb dog...» he said and laid down onto the towel again, moving his arms behind his head. He chuckled softly, which made her pout and get even more red as she used her tail to hit him straight on his face. «Oof!!»

He grabbed her tail and pulled it away from his face, frowning as he looked up at her, Luna having her arms crossed and looking away from him, her cheeks beet red. He couldn’t help but to smirk and pulled her tail behind his head, using it as a pillow. Luna just glared down at him, seeing him use her tail as a pillow, looking rather comfortable. She didn’t mind, but were sure that she would pay him back at some point. She let him use her tail as a pillow, and he eventually snoozed off, sleeping. She just rolled her eyes and gently put his shades on, and made sure that he wouldn’t get sunburnt.

«Idiot...» she hissed and kept pouting.

He slept for a while, but got woken up by Luna who slightly started to get worried that he’ll get burnt. He sat up and stretched his back, followed by a yawn as he looked over at her. «Why did you wake me up? I was so comfortable...»

«To make sure you won’t get burnt...or do you want that?» she muttered.

«I’m wearing a t-shirt. There’s no way i’ll get burnt like this.» he hissed, followed by a tired sigh.

He sat there for a while as Luna got up, and walked down to the water, just generally dipping her feet in, and looking out at the horizon. People on the beach had let, so there wasn’t to many anymore, which made the him feel more at ease. He took his sunglasses off and laid them down beside him while letting out a soft sigh, only to get splashed with water at his face. He ran his hand over his face, and looked over at Luna, who were giggling softly, looking to the side. He growled as he looked down at his shirt, which was now soaked. He took it off in a hurry and put it aside, hoping it would dry out before they decided to leave again and got up on his feet, starting to approach Luna, who had turned her back at him again. She didn’t hear him approach, but yelped when he picked her up.

«W-what are you doing!?» she yelped.

«Someone needs a cooldown.» he hissed and started to walk further out into the water.

«What!?» she yelped. «Put me down!»

«Soon.» he hissed.

She got further out and stopped, while she wrapped her arms around his neck, wiggling her body in an attempt to get out of his arms. She yelped as he threw her into the water, only for her to cling to him and drag him with her while giving a yelp. He lightly yelped as well as he got dragged down with her, not predicted that she probably would have done that. Both ending under the water, they quickly got up to the surface again, both being as red as they could get.

Luna sat there, her ears twitching lightly from the water as she looked at him. «Why did you do that?!» she hissed at him.

He moved to sit on her side, running his hand through his bangs while giving her a glare. «Because someone...» he started and poked her on her forehead. «...Decided to be a dumb dog!» he finished, growling it at her.

«But what did i do…?» she muttered, sure that she didn’t do anything.

«Don’t play the victim card...» he hissed, only for a small Ariel to fly across their faces, giggling softly.

_ Well shit… _

Luna just growled, puffing her cheeks. «If this is paypack, then i don’t like it…  _ Game Over _ !» she growled and crossed her arms at him..

Gladion now felt bad, finding out to late that it was a small Ariel that played a trick on him and not Luna. «Sorry...» he muttered silently.

«Hmpf!» Luna just turned her head, puffing her cheeks.

He bit his lower lip, trying to think of a clever reply and apology to her, knowing now that it wasn’t her. He got up on his feet and held out his hand for her, offering to help her up. Luna just looked at his hand, while giving him a glare.

«Really...I’m sorry...» he muttered. «I ruined your outing...»

«You sure did...» she hissed.

«I’ll give you whatever you want...just don’t be mad...please.»

«Whatever i want?» she repeated.

«Whatever you want...» he confirmed.

She took his hand and he helped her up on her feet again, apologizing again to her. She just hummed softly and twisted her hair, getting some of the sea water out of it. He didn’t like the sound of that hum of hers, and were starting to get anxious for her reply of what she wanted, thinking that Lillie probably had fixated her on something expensive or something. Walking back up to the spot they were using, they both sat down, and he quickly grabbed his shirt, not wanting her to get any ideas of either destroying it or do something else with it.

«I’ll think about what i want.» She told him.

«I don’t like the sound of that...» he muttered.

«Well...» she started, and looked over at him with narrow eyes. «That’s your fault.»

He just nodded slightly. «Yeah...I know that already...» Gladion noticed that the small Ariel were still flying around them, giggling and probably planning to do something else mischievous. Luna gave it a glare, which made it flinch and fly off. Gladion saw the glare she sent, and made him get goosebumps down his back.

Being there for a little longer, they packed up their towels and decided to get back home, as the sun had started to set in the horizon, and despite it being summer, it had started to get a bit on the chilly side. Gladion got the t-shirt on, and Luna on the summer dress as they he grabbed the bag with the towels and other stuff in it. Luna didn’t say anything, still being a little upset that he threw her into the water, which she found quite cold. Walking off the beach and onto the street, they stopped at a vendor to get a bottle of something to drink before continuing onward to the complex. The walk over were silent, but as they entered the building and taking the elevator up, Gladon took a quick glance over at her, only to see her still being somewhat red. Probably from what he did earlier, which he did regret. Getting so close to her, only to pull back and chuckle at her face who had a mixture of confusion, shock and surprise. The elevator stopped and they got out of it, slowly finding their way to the apartment. Luna were walking a little in front of him, and he couldn’t avert his gaze from her tail, swaying softly with the movements of her hips.

Getting into the apartment, Gladion put the bag down and kept the drink on hand while watching Luna disappear around the corner and into the bathroom, locking the door as the shower turned on. Gladion sighed and closed the door before getting over to the dinner table, sitting down while sipping on the drink. Luna spent a while in the shower, as she needed to make sure that the salt from the sea water were out of her hair, ears and tail. Shampooing it and rinsing it several times. It was quite tiresome task, but she had done it so many times that she had gotten quite numb to it. As the image of Gladion getting so close to her came to mind, she blushed and frowned, scoffing to herself.

«Idiot...» she muttered silently, pouting slightly.

She finished and got herself wrapped up in the summer dress again, brushing through her hair a little before she put it up in a ponytail. She walked out and found the bag, taking it and took it with her, placing it in the bathroom. Gladion just watched her do it, thinking that he should, thinking that she would be to mad to do anything of the sorts. After she lightly threw it onto the floor, she got out to the living room again, taking a seat in the couch while placing her tail in her lap, starting to run her fingers through it gently.

«You still mad?» he asked, looking over at her.

«No.» she flatly replied.

«Uhuh…?» he hummed softly. Luna just slowly turned her head towards him, giving him a glare. He just held up his hands in defeat. «I get it...I get it…  _ Get lost _ .» he added, while Luna just slightly nodded.

The evening were uneventful, other than Gladion gradually getting nervous while watching her after he took place beside her in the couch, turning on some documentary she wanted to watch. Sitting there in silence for a while, he decided to take a shower before just hitting the bed, being uncomfortable beside her, as he felt that she would do something at any second. He walked off into the bathroom, while Luna kept on sitting there, watching the show that was still going on. She wasn’t mad or anything, just very occupied with what the documentary was about, and had, mostly, forgotten what happened earlier that day. She still remembered that he would have to give her something for throwing her into the water, and she were still thinking a little about it, but decided to let it be, seeing that he were uncomfortable around her for the evening. Once the bathroom door got locked, she giggled softly, lightly shaking her head and got more comfortable in the couch, grabbing a pillow and hugged it tightly. The documentary were about Fae’s and Fable’s that were living in or around water, which was something she found interesting, mostly because on how humans portrayed them. Knowing that the Fables, like Sirens, were quite peaceful and harmless, it was quite interesting to see that humans portrayed them as vile and evil, using their song to lure in human men to steal their souls. Knowing that a Siren usually would sing whenever something good happened in their life, but she could understand that humans would see them as evil and such. Their song had a specific enhancement in it that made it easier to lure in a certain type of males, which happened to be both male Sirens and male humans. As well as the Merpeople, who humans called “Mermaids”, which would, for Luna, refer to the female ones only.

Watching the documentary, it stopped for a commercial break, which made her sigh softly, only to yelp loudly when the commercial started out loudly, making her hug the pillow tightly and stare wide eyed at the screen. Gladion heard the yelp and quickly dried himself up, and got into some sweatpants and a t-shirt and walked out, looking over at her.

«What is it?» he asked, looking around the place.

Luna looked over at him with big eyes. «It was loud...» she muttered.

He just looked dumbfounded at her. «Loud? The Tv i guess?» Luna just nodded and gave him a sheepish smile. He just facepalmed. «You dumb dog...» he lightly hissed.

Luna just chuckled sheepishly. «Sorry...»

«The documentary still going on?» he asked, being quite awake after her yelp and the shower.

Luna nodded, and started to relax a little more. Gladion got over to the couch and sat down beside her. As he did, she scooted closer, leaning up against him, which made him tense up, thinking that she were up to no good. The commercial ended and the documentary started where it left off. After watching for a while, Luna put her head on his shoulder, feeling herself getting a little tired while keeping her eyes on the screen. The position being quite uncomfortable for him, so to relieve some of that ‘stress’, he moved his arm behind her, resting it on the back of the couch. Luna just scooted closer to him, feeling cozy as she kept hugging the pillow, and wrapping her tail around herself. Throughout watching the documentary, Luna did tell him that there was a lot of things that were wrong about the Fae’s and Fable’s that were in it, which Gladion found interesting, as the several ones shown were usually always pictured as evil or up to no good, which made him look down at her. Luna were a  _ Kyuubi _ , a rare subspecies of the Kitsune branch, which were known to be either flirasious, playful or mischievous. All depending on how the fox were raised by previous owners. She had put her ears down on her head a little, as not to irritate him while watching the show, which he were grateful for, knowing that she did care to some extent, and he couldn’t help the growing blush on his cheeks. The rest of the evening were silent, but comfortable as they both were watching the thing on the screen.


	26. Last day of Summer

The month passed, and summer vacation were more or less over and classes were starting the next day again. Luna had managed to drag him to the beach several times throughout the latest month, and were having fun doing so, seeing his displeased expression whenever he were ordered to do anything he didn’t want to do. Even though he looked like he didn’t like it, he lowkey did, mostly because Luna looked like she enjoyed it and didn’t want her to be upset. A frown definitely didn’t sit well on her face, at least he didn’t think so. They had been at the beach now for a few hours already, and were, more or less enjoying themselves. While sitting there in silence, they noticed that Chad were walking around with his Fae behind him, looking like he were looking for someone. Luna were uneasy when just seeing him in the distance, which was easy for Gladion to notice. By just looking at him, walking back and forth down at the waterfront, looking somewhat distressed. Gladion were rather curious as of why, but according to the news that have been flying around about him having cheated his way to the champion title, it probably were something about that.

Luna had her ears flat on her head, ignoring him to the best of her ability, while looking quite uncomfortable. «I know you don’t like him, but you make it very obvious looking like that.» Gladon said to her.

«Sorry...» she muttered lightly.

«It’s fine. Really...You just make it very obvious.» he muttered, looking back over at Chad, who were still pacing around, but slowly started to disappear into the distance.

Luna nodded and slightly turned her head, looking into the direction of him. Seeing him go off into the distance made her give off a soft sigh, while Gladion let out a soft chuckle. Sitting there, just looking out at the horizon while the soft sea breeze were gently running through her hair and his bangs, just making them listen to the seagulls that were screeching in the distance, children laughing around the place, as well as watching whoever that were passing them. It started out with just small giggled on her part whenever she saw someone she found funny looking, which he caught on after a while, both ending up just silently shittalk about people passing them. Gladion stopped laughing, going over to soft chuckling while watching her still laugh softly, a soft smile appearing on his face. Listening to her soft laugh for a little before some commotion started to happen, both of them looking into the direction where it was going on. They couldn’t see what was going on, but people around that area were screaming loudly.

«Probably some celebrity.» Gladion muttered.

Luna hummed softly. «Do human really get that loud at someone famous?» she asked, tilting her head a little.

«Some people do get that loud...maybe even louder. Completely depends on who it is though.» he replied with a sigh, shaking his head lightly.

«Is that so...» she muttered softly. Gladion hummed softly in response.

Looking in the direction for a while, they suddenly saw Chad run over to the place, breaking through the crowd that had gathered, only for him to be pushed out of the crowd again, growling and grumbling loudly as he slowly walked off, his Fae hurrying after him. Luna noticed that his Fae were looking rather sick and unhappy, which she didn’t like. Compared to all the other Fae’s she had seen, it was the first one with a stoic expression on their face.

«Meh...let them be. People will get tired of it eventually or some guards will shoo people away.» Gladion added, shifting his position.

«If you say so...i just don’t get the fascination with someone just because they are famous or something.» she said.

«I don’t get it either.» he added, shrugging. Luna looked over at him and just nodded, humming softly.

Gladion laid back down, and grabbed her tail, using it as a pillow. He had done it every time they were at the beach, so she didn’t care anymore. While he were laying there without a care in the world, she grabbed the bag she had made him carry for her and dug up a bottle of water, sipping on it while looking out at the horizon again, as well as at the people around them, minding their own business. While sipping on the water, she looked down at Gladion.

«You are going to get burnt if you don’t put on some sunscreen...» she muttered.

«Probably...» he muttered and sat up again. «Do you mind finding it?»

Luna hummed softly and dug through the bag, finding it and handed it over to him. He quickly put on some and timidly asked Luna to cover his back, which she agreed to. He hesitated, but turned his back towards her and she turned towards him. For have asked her a couple of times already, it was still just as awkward. Luna got some lotion in her hand and put the bottle down before placing her palm on his shoulders, which made him tense up a little from her touch. He did his best to fight the blush that were slowly appearing on his cheeks. He didn’t know why he got so tense around her, otherwise feeling quite comfortable since he did know her. To an extent at least. Luna started to giggle softly, giving him a pat on his back as a sign that she were finished.

«What did you do now…?» he hissed and tried to get a look.

«Didn’t do anything. I just thought of something funny.» she replied, giving him a sweet smile.

Gladion just hummed softly. «Right...» narrowing his eyes at her.

«I promise!» she exclaimed, and gave him a fake pout. Gladion just hummed softly again.

He laid back down again, still being quite suspicious of her. He grabbed her tail again and used it as a pillow. Luna just rolled her eyes at him. Gladion eventually nodded off, sleeping peacefully for a while. Luna kept herself busy humming softly on a random melody she came to remember from when she was a young pup. As the clouds covered the sky, hiding the sun, the wind started to pick up a little, getting rowdy and quite chilly. She looked out at the horizon, seeing dark clouds appearing quickly. He woke up by the chilly breeze, sitting up and reached for his t-shirt. Luna asked if they should get home, pointing at the dark clouds, and pointing out the wind that gradually got stronger.

He nodded. «Yeah...Let’s get going.»

Packing up, and starting to leave, there was several others that had also started to pack up and leave. Luna started to shiver lightly from the cold breeze and just wanted to get home in a hurry. Getting back and inside of the complex building, they got greeted by the security there as they passed the front desk. Getting into the elevator, Gladion pushed the button for their floor and watched the doors close in front of them. The elevator trip up seemed to take longer than usual, and the tacky elevator music definitely didn’t make it any better. They got to their floor eventually and found their way to the apartment, only to hear the wind picking up big time, howling around the building. Luna didn’t like the howling of it, and started to feel uneasy about it. As much as she hated storms of any kind, it was more terrifying when she couldn’t be at ground level and hide a place where she found safe. Getting into the apartment, Gladion got the bag off her and put it into the bathroom while she hesitated over to the bedroom, thinking about getting into her usual attire, which she found comfortable. Gladion knew she hated it, especially the ones in Alola, where they got a bit more violent than what happened around in this region.

She changed, and as the howling kept on going, she hesitated out to the living room again, finding Gladion putting in the food she made earlier for the beach into the fridge. She quickly grabbed the blanket on the couch, wrapped herself around in it and sat down, her ears laying flat on her head, being quite uneasy.

«I hate storms...» she muttered.

Gladion chuckled softly, passing her. «Still not to found of the stormy weather?»

She growled lightly to him, giving him a glare as he passed, getting into the bedroom himself, getting out of the swim trunks and into some sweatpants before walking out again, finding Luna even more wrapped up in the blanket, only her ears and tail were showing, which made him chuckle softly at her again. He walked up behind her and just pulled the blanket more over her head, making her yelp lightly. Before he managed to get away, she grabbed his wrists and pulled him forward and over her. He yelped lightly as she did, feeling himself getting thrown over the couch, only to have his arms in front of her, their cheeks touching while she just glared at him from the corner of her eyes.

«I just had to...» he muttered.

«That actually hurt you know...» she lightly hissed.

«Really? Where did it hurt?»

«My ears...»

«Oh...» he muttered softly. «Well...i’m sorry.»

«You better be...» she lightly hissed.

She let go of his wrists and he backed up, only for him to get onto the couch beside her. She moved the blanket a little off her head, and gently rubbed her ears a little before getting the blanket back up and around her comfortably. The wind had gotten stronger, and it made the building slightly vibrate, which she noticed and sunk more into the blanket and the couch. Gladion put on the TV in order to try and distract her from the coming storm, just putting on a random channel with a random show on it. She sat there, looking at the screen while trying to get her mind off the storm and would eventually manage to calm down a little, but were still on alert. While sitting there, out of habit, she summoned her other tails. Gladion didn’t notice it until he took a quick glance over at her, seeing her wrapped up in the. Just looking at her with wide eyes, seeing the tails surrounding her.

Luna noticed that he were staring at her and looked over at him. «What…?»

«Can you not?» he muttered and just pointed at her tails.

«But i feel safe...» she muttered softly, giving him a small pout. «Want to join my tail pile?»

He shaked his head. «No...I don’t want to get tangled up in that mess.»

She just shrugged. «Your loss.»

He just scoffed and got more comfortable in the couch, while Luna giggled softly, keeping her tails around herself for comfort. While the TV show kept on going, Luna were watching intently and Gladion got up from the couch, deciding to find the uniform and get that out of the closet and ready for tomorrow, when classes were going to start again. Getting over to the wardrobe, he quickly found it and made sure it was looking okay, despite him hating it. He hung it on the door for the closet in the bedroom, as per usual and for himself to remember it. Walking out again, he dug up his phone and put on the alarm for the next morning and got over to the couch, reaching for the laptop as he sat down again. Luna quickly glanced over at him, but kept her attention on the show on the screen. Gladion decided to take a quick look at whatever of mails there was from either Wicke, Lusamine or Lillie, knowing that they would bombard him with it, asking for whatever of opinions, beside Wicke, who would just give him a heads up about whatever that would probably come his way. He skimmed through the emails from Lillie and Lusamine, not finding them interesting, at least not until there was a email from Lusamine telling him that she would, most likely, have a lecture for his class sometime before Christmas. He sighed and hung his head a little, which caught Luna’s attention.

«What?» she asked, as the sigh from him sounded rather frustrating.

«Just my mother again...as usual.»

«What did she say now…?» Luna lightly hissed.

«Nothing much, other than she might be having a lecture sometime before Christmas.» he replied, looking over at her.

«Oh...Is that a bad thing?» Luna questioned him, tilting her head.

«It’s fine, but knowing her...she’ll drag me into the lecture...and hate being the center of attention.» he muttered, shaking his head lightly.

Luna nodded and hid most of her tails again, scooting closer to him to take a look at the screen. She quickly read what it said and hummed softly. She did tell him that it was probably closer to Christmas than what she had stated in the mail, only to make him feel uneasy about it. She also reassured him that he had nothing to fear, as she would be there and make sure Lusamine wouldn’t make a fool out of him. He just smiled softly, knowing that she would be there to defend him one way or another. The rest of the evening went on with her just huddling into the blanket and leaning against him while watching the TV show that was on. He closed the laptop after going through the rest of the emails and put in onto the table again before leaning back, placing his arms on the back of the couch behind her. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he couldn’t get over the warm feeling whenever she were close and just generally around the last month, and certainly didn’t want to get rid of it for the time being.


	27. First day of Classes

The first class of the new year had started, and it was as expected. Just a lot of introductions of teachers and their subjects, as well as what will happen the coming months. Luna were feeling quite uncomfortable, getting whatever of stares despite trying her best to ignore them. Gladion noticed it as well, but couldn’t do much about it, other than to let her know that she should just keep ignoring it in a hushed voice throughout the class. Luna just kept nodding at him, humming softly as a reply. Getting a new seat in the classroom where she could sit beside him were the optimal choice, so whenever they got out of the Great Hall and over to the classroom, he grabbed a table at the window section, where it was, more or less, made for Fae’s that were humanoid, as they had an extra space for them beside their owner. Luna were sitting closest to the window, looking outside while listening to what the teacher said and started with. Unlike the many other Fae’s in the room, Luna kept herself silent and calm, not wanting to interrupt and definitely not getting scolded by Gladion later on.

Sitting through the ‘subject’, the class ended and the teacher left the room, but told them that they would be using the same classroom for the next, so they didn’t need to bother move around. With that, some of the fellow classmates left the room, just to stand out in the hallway and chat loudly. Chad were back, but wasn’t looking to happy being around, but were quite interested in Luna, as usual. He had never seen her in her humanoid form, and couldn’t look away, finding her quite stunning and were debating with himself if he should ask Gladion who that Fae was, or just keep observing for the day. There was a lot of others who were wondering on the same, but didn’t dare to ask, as well as Gladion were rather casual around her, so they figured out it was the same, as he kept using the same name as the feral one he had last year. Luna kept herself somewhat invisible, despite she wasn’t and were getting a lot of unwanted attention. She knew it was because she was in her humanoid form, and thought it would be easier, since most of the other Fae’s around were already in a humanoid form. Gladion didn’t seem bothered by it, even though he hated the stares he also got.

Luna sighed softly. «Sorry...» she muttered softly.

Gladion just looked over at her in surprise, only to take a quick look around the room. «You haven’t done anything, and if it helps...You got more attention when you were in your feral form.»

«I did? Can’t say i noticed...» she replied, lowering her ears a little.

«Well...You did sleep most of the time in the classes.» he added. Luna just nodded slightly.

There was some chatter about a new music group popping up while the summer vacation is going on, and it was apparently a big thing among the girls, as they kept fangirling over some of the members of the group. One of the girls got up a photo of one of the members on her phone. She took a quick glance over in Gladion’s direction and just narrowed her eyes at him, looking down at her phone again.

«Gladion?» she called for him. Which made him hum softly in reply, looking over in her direction. She kept exchanging looks between him and the photo, holding up the phone to compare them. «That’s creepy...» she muttered.

Gladion just looked unamused at her, while Luna started to softly giggle. «What is it?» he asked her, slightly hissing it.

She panicked a little. «Oh! You just look so similar to this guy...» she said and turned her phone, showing him the photo.

Luna leaned over him, looking at the photo and were quite impressed. «That does indeed look like a doppelganger.» Luna said. «Despite you have green eyes and that guy have blue ones.» she added, smiling sweetly at the girl. Gladion just growled silently, but once he heard her say that he had a different eye color, a very faint pink color appeared on his cheeks.

The girl looked at the photo again and hummed softly. «Hmm…Yeah, you are right.» she said and gave Luna a sweet smile. Luna just smiled sweetly back.

The teacher got into the classroom and slammed the book of his onto the desk, making most of the others flinch. He cleared his throat and everyone scattered, getting back to their seats and quickly greeted him. He started by telling them that he didn’t want to waste time and ordered them to just get to the page he wrote up on the whiteboard as he started right away. Luna sat there and just watched the other Fae’s just generally being disrespectful around their owners, which she frowned upon, not really getting why they were so rude, and that their owners didn’t say anything to them, just leaving them be. The teacher kept going on about the subject, which was mostly a summary of what they already knew from last year and were just waiting for the class to end or the teacher get onto something else, which didn’t happen. The class ended, and people gathered their stuff and left the room, finding their way to the other classroom, which would take place in a lecture hall across the College grounds. Getting out of the building and heading towards the other, which would take a few minutes. As they were walking, a male Kitsune came running over, calling for her. They both stopped, and he stopped right in front of her, panting rather heavily while muttering her name. Gladion gave Luna a nod and kept going, to which she started to feel nervous for being left behind.

«Yes…?» she muttered lightly, seeing Gladion stopping and waiting in the distance.

«I’m...sorry for...stopping you...it’s just...» he muttered between the heavy panting of his. He took a few deep breaths and straightened up. Luna recognized him as the Fae from the beach that one time, which was the only time she had ever met him.

«That’s alright...» she muttered, feeling unsure as of why she was called for, not really knowing the Fae.

A faint blush appeared on his cheeks as he scratched his nose, looking slightly embarrassed. «I was just wondering on something...» he started, taking another deep breath. Luna just tilted her head at him. «Well...You are really pretty and...» he started, and continued on with how he would like to have her genes in his offspring, which made Luna even more uncomfortable, and even quite offended. «So...the question is...» he added and paused a little. «Would you like to mate…?»

«No.» she muttered, quite disgusted by it. She tried to be polite about it, telling him that she didn’t know him, and needed an emotional bond before anything of that sort happened. «Sorry...but no.»

The male looked at her with a shocked expression before it turned sour. He scoffed and were quite insulted by her turning it down. «You females are all the same...»

«I wonder why…?» she hissed and turned around, starting to walk off. «Bye...» she added as she walked off.

He just stood there, watching her walk off and over to Gladion. As she got closer to him, she slightly jogged over, and gave him a sweet smile, which the Kitsune noticed and got even more agitated as he turned around, lighty stomping off. Gladion asked what he wanted, to which Luna just told him straight out. Gladion looked at her with confusion on his face, and didn’t get why a Fae would be so upfront about it, but then again, Fae’s were different and they most likely would say whatever. But that were just way to upfront, even for him.

«Ugh...» she muttered softly, shivering a little.

«At least he were polite and asked.» Gladion replied to her.

«Yeah...» she muttered, nodding slightly. «All because he found me pretty...» she added in a hushed voice.

«Because you are.» Gladion quickly replied, not thinking about what he said as he heard her. 

Luna looked up at him with big eyes and a blush on her cheeks. «Huh…?»

«Scratch that!» Gladion added in a hurry and quickened his pace.

Luna stopped for a little as a smile grew on her face. She giggled softly and hurried up to his side, seeing that Gladion were quite red as they continued to the other building. «You think i’m pretty?» she asked, wanting to hear it again from him.

«I’m not answering that...» he replied, not looking at her as he lightly hissed it.

Luna kept on giggling and pestering him about it as they got to the other building. Gladion kept repeating that he wouldn’t answer it as they entered the building and found their way to the lecture hall, and found some seats. Luna kept humming softly, trying to pry it out of him again, to which he just hissed for her to stop whenever she hummed. She didn’t stop and kept leaning onto him, to which me muttered ‘dumb dog’ to her.

«Woof woof.» she just replied to him, giving him a mischievous smile.

Gladion just sighed and shaked his head, which made her giggle softly and sit back in the seat of hers. Luna did hear him correctly, since he didn’t want to repeat himself, and his blushing face were the confirmation she needed. She decided to stop pestering him, starting to feel sorry for the beet red guy beside her, that tried his best to not look effected by it.

«I’ll stop.» she said softly to him, still giggling a little by it.

«Good...» he muttered, letting out a soft groan.

After he let out the groan, the door opened and fellow classmates arrived, as well as the teacher walked through the door, stopping at the front and greeted everyone, asked if they had a nice summer and just generally starting some small talk. Gladion inhaled deeply and let it out with a soft sigh, finding a notebook if he needed to note some things down. Luna just sat beside him, listening and watching people and the teacher go on about the subject. The subject were new for once and were about the rare Fae’s and Fable’s. The teacher were quite adamant about the rare Kitsune breed, Kyuubi, being the same as a Hellhound. Dark and evil. Luna knew that wasn’t the case, being one herself. She felt herself getting more and more insulted by what the teacher said, ending up sitting there with her arms crossed. The evil part of a Kyuubi would most likely come from the playful nature that came with them, which would probably be the main reason as of why a Kyuubi were considered evil. Thinking back at Hikari, she kinda understood that, but then again, she was one.

_ How come i’m not like that…? _

She tilted her head a little, which Gladion noticed and nudged her slightly. «You okay? You seem frustrated.» he asked in a hushed voice.

«I’m fine...Thank you...» she replied, giving him a sweet smile.

«You sure? I don’t really want to deal with it later.» he added, raising an eyebrow at her.

«I’m sure.» she replied softly, nodding. Gladion just hummed softly, not really believing her.

The class eventually ended, but the teacher kept on going with the ‘all Kyuubi’s are evil’ about a Kyuubi, heavily comparing the rare species to the other well known Hellhound. Getting out of the lecture hall, they found their way to the front yard, finding a bench to sit down at. Gladion dug up the food Luna made earlier and handed one to her. She took it off his hand but didn’t start unwrapping it as he did. Her mind were quite busy thinking about why she wasn’t the typical Kyuubi, being the playful kind. Of course, she could act that way just to mess with Gladion, even though it did feel rather strange to force it like that. She became so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice Gladion call for her.

«Luna?»

She hummed softly. «What?» she muttered, looking over at him.

«You sure you are okay?» he asked, sounding worried.

«I’m fine...Why asking?»

«You spaced out...» he started and looked at the time on his phone. «...For a while.» he finished, putting the phone into his pocket again and looked over at her. 

«Oh...Sorry...i’m just...thinking.» she replied and looked down at her hands, studying the food she made before they left and handed over to him for keepsake until lunch.

«Did what he said hit you that hard? From what i know, none of what he said is true.» Gladion said and sat back.

«No, what he said is...somewhat true...to an extent at least.» she replied, followed by a soft sigh. «I’m just...unsure i guess.»

«Unsure about what?» he asked.

«My entire existence…» she replied softly.

She sighed and shaked her head, telling him that she would be fine as she gave him a soft smile. Gladion weren’t sure if he should believe her or not, as he had never seen her looking so down, much less, been so lost in thought after something. She unwrapped the food and took a bite off it, still being very much lost in thought, which Gladion could see in her eyes, but didn’t want to pry it out, knowing that she wouldn’t say anything to him and most likely laugh and crack a few bad jokes to avoid talking about it. The rest of they day were pretty much silent on her side, being worried if something were wrong with her for not being the ‘typical’ Kyuubi. On their way back to the apartment, Gladion kept glancing over at her, making sure that she were fine, though, it was hard to tell, as she had been silent most of the day, and he gradually got worried as they got into the apartment. Luna quickly got into the corner of the apartment, sitting down and looking out of the windows while wrapping her tail around her feet while leaning up against the wall. Her ears were laying down on her head as he walked off to change into casual clothes, only to find her in the same position when he walked into the living room again. Gladion walked over and sat down beside you.

«Are you  _ really _ sure that you are okay?» he asked, his voice quite stern sounding.

She smiled softly at him and nodded. «I’m fine. I just need to sort my thoughts.» she replied and looked over at him. «I’ll just...sit here and meditate a little.»

Gladion nodded. «If you say so...» he said and got up on his feet again. He walked over to the kitchen area and looked over at her, shifting her position and probably getting ready to do some meditation. «You know...» he started.

Luna’s ears perked up and she looked over at him. «Huh?»

A faint blush came to his cheeks. «...If you need to talk...» he started. «...You know...» he finished it, muttering softly.

Luna smile warmly to him. «I know. Thank you~.»

Luna got more comfortable, wrapped her tail around her legs, and closed her eyes, letting out a soft sigh. What she meant with ‘meditation’ was to get into a spiritual state, trying to contact Hikari since she had questions she needed answers on. About her, why she’s different and if there was something wrong with her at all. She knew she was saved by Hikari’s sister, but for what reason was something she didn’t know, and where and possibly how she got found and saved, as well as why Hikari kept calling her Yami, which was not her name. Luna’s conscious slowly faded, and Gladion could tell, since it sounded like she stopped breathing. He could tell that she were still alive as the tip of her tail kept on twitching, but he couldn’t help to actually feel worried for her. He got over to the couch, and sat down and reached for the laptop, browsing and generally just checking stuff online, but kept an eye on her, making sure that she were still around.


	28. Human Born

Drifting off, she woke up and looked around, seeing a small pond and a waterfall. She looked around and got up on her feet, walking over to the water and looked into the pond for a little before turning to her side, seeing Hikari standing there, leaning against a tree with her arms crossed and a smirk on her lips. She got off the tree and walked over to her, her arms still crossed and the smirk still present, slowly getting more and more mischievous. She stopped a few feet away from her, placing her hands on her hips.

«You seem troubled, my dear Yami.» she murmured, followed by a soft giggle.

«I just have a few questions...if you care to answer them.» Luna lightly hissed.

Hikari just shrugged. «Depends on the questions, darling. But sure...» she replied, not really wanting to be around and be questioned.

«I already know that your sister saved me...but from what? And why?» she asked, standing her ground.

Hikari hummed softly. «My dear sister, Kage, always wanted to be a mother, as of why she took you in at the time.» she said and started to pace around a little. «And she saved you because you were left to die...at Mt. Moon in Kanto by someone, probably your parents at the time.»

Luna’s ears lowered, as she didn’t know or had any recollection of her parents. «Is that so… But why? You have kept telling me that you should have killed me since day one.»

«Because i should have, but my sister stopped me.» she replied, followed by a deep sigh, already getting tired of the questions.

«But why?» Luna repeated her question, her voice sounding more serious.

«Because a human born Fable is rare.» she flatly replied, giving her a glare.

Luna just watched her with big eyes. «W-what…?»

«Did i stutter? Dear Yami...You are a human born Fable. More so, a human born Kyuubi….Probably why your parents abandoned you in the first place.» she scoffed.

Luna inhaled deeply. «Right...» she muttered softly. «What about the infection you keep telling me about? What is that anyway?»

«The infection?» she repeated and laughed. «It means your feelings. As a human born Fable, you have those human emotions...which is something a Fable shouldn’t have.»

«And why is that?»

«You get to easily attached to something...» she started, and gave her a knowingly look. «Or someone.» she added, giving her a mischievous smile. «And i keep calling you Yami because that is what you are.»

«Yami…?»

«Darkness. You are the best, and the worst of both worlds. Your feelings will most likely get the better of you and corrupt you at some point...» she said, studying her nails. «And no one can save you from that. Not even your human.» she added, giving her a glare.

Luna swallowed thickly. «Is that so...» she muttered, looking down at the ground.

«Considering that you are asking all this since you have noticed that you don’t act as a normal Kyuubi does. Am i right?» she asked, and took a few steps towards her.

Luna scoffed. «You never cared anyway, so why would you even ask me that?»

«Just because i have said so doesn't mean i don’t.» she replied to her. Luna just looked surprised up at her. «You were the joy for my sister, and she loved raising you. And i can’t forget her smile whenever she looked at you...Which i really despise...» she hissed at her, taking a deep breath. «But you were bring a smile on her face, even a smile i couldn’t make.»

«Hikari...» Luna muttered. «Sorry i took your sister away from you...»

«You didn’t. She did choose her own path, and she raised you. She were just unlucky with life when she crystalized and disappeared.» Hikari replied, shaking her head at her. «Anyway...You don’t act as a ‘normal’ Kyuubi because you are human born. A normal Kyuubi don’t relate to emotions like humans do. In short, to be a Kyuubi, you need to keep you emotions and feelings in check at all times, but since you are a human born, that will prove to be difficult, as humans are more prone to act on feelings and certain emotions.»

Luna hummed softly and just nodded, not sure what to reply to that. «Ugh...You do what you want. I can’t stop you, no matter what i say or do.» she said and paused. «My sister probably just want you to be happy...so...do that. For your  _ mother _ . And of course,  _ yourself _ .» she finished. «Just don’t do anything dumb.» she quickly added.

Luna watched her turn her back at her and starting to walk away, disappearing into the shadows of the forest. «Sorry for being stuck with me...» she muttered.

Luna looked around a little more, walking around a little as well, making sure that the place were untouched by others, which it luckily wasn’t, it being her main territory, and she needed to make sure it was still hers. She didn’t mind Hikari wandering around, knowing that she wouldn’t do anything about it. Walking around the place a little, her mind kept thinking about the new fact that she was a human born Fable.

She sighed. «Human born Fable...» she muttered to herself. She stopped and gave it a thought. «Is that the same as the supposed  _ Wild Card _ some humans calls Fae’s? That can turn human?» She hummed softly, trying to think more about it, but to no avail, letting out a deep sigh. «Whatever...I’ll most likely never find out.» she muttered and looked up at the trees around her. She walked around a little more, but got back to the pond, taking a last look before she sat down, taking in the sight before she closed her eyes.

Hours passed, and while Luna were in her ‘meditating’ state, Gladion had managed to run a few errands that was needed, but did them in a hurry, not wanting Luna out of his sight, being worried sick for her. She have been sitting in the same position for hours at end, and he increasingly got more and more worried as the hours passed. It eventually got so late as well, and knowing that classes were starting early, he had to head to bed and get some sleep. Hesitating, he went and changed into the PJs and got himself ready and under the duvet, getting as comfortable as possible. Looking around the room, and to the side of him, at the empty spot were she would usually lay at or shortly join kept him awake for a while longer, at least until his eyes grew heavy, and he eventually drifted off. It felt rather strange, even knowing that she were in the living room, still being that trance of hers, it was hard to fall asleep. After he had slept for about an hour, Luna woke up and yawned loudly, slowly opening her eyes to see the place around her surrounded with darkness. Looking around herself for a little, she got up on her feet, stretching her back a little before finding her way over to the kitchen area, finding a glass and filling it up with water. She looked at the water in the glass a little before gulping down a good portion of it, and placed poured the rest of it out, placing the glass on the bench, thinking that she can just use it the next morning as well.

Another yawn escaped her as she turned around, looking around the apartment a little more before deciding to just head to bed, it being quite late since it was dark, beside the natural light coming from the outside, giving her some light to look around the place in. She walked out of the kitchen area, passing the couch and noticed that the laptop of his were still up and running. She closed it and put the charger on, knowing fully well that he’ll get quite irritated if he managed to forget doing so. Smiling softly, she got over to the bedroom. She opened the door and saw him, sound asleep. She silently stepped inside and closed the door as silently as possible, and made sure that he were asleep when she stripped down and got into her PJ, which was a top and a pair of shorts in some soft fabric she came to like after a while. She quickly got into it, and moved the duvet away, making enough room for her to crawl in under it. Sitting down on the bed, trying to be as light as possible, she managed to wake him up. He turned around to face her, only to end up on his back, running his hand over his face lightly.

«You finally got tired?» he muttered in a husky voice.

Luna flinched and looked over at him. «Sorry if i woke you up...» she muttered gently, giving him a sheepish smile.

«It’s fine...» he replied with a soft groan. «Just get to sleep already...» he added, placing his forearm over his eyes, slightly pushing his bangs away from his face.

Luna giggled softly and just nodded. «I’m working on that, thank you very much.»

He hummed softly. «Did you sort your thoughts though?» he asked, slightly looking over at her.

She became silent and just sat there, looking down at her hands that were laying in her lap. Gladion moved his arm away a little, looking up at her fully as her ears slowly found their way down the back of her head. Looking up at her with a worried expression, he sat up.

«What?» he muttered softly.

She looked over at him a little and just shaked her head. «I’m fine, i just...have a lot more i need to sort out.» she replied, followed by a sheepish laugh.

«You have been out for hours, and i got pretty worried.» he added, followed by a soft sigh.

Luna’s ears perked up and she looked over at him, giving him a soft smile. «Thank you, but you didn’t have to get worried for me.»

«Easier said than done.» he quickly replied.

He just sighed again, muttered that she had to tell him whatever the next day, if she wanted to before he laid down on his back again. Luna hummed softly and nodded, scooting closer to him as she leaned over him. Gladion had his eyes closed, but were still awake.

«What now?» he lightly hissed.

Luna placed her hand on his cheek, which made him instantly open his eyes, looking up at her and meeting her grey eyes, that looked like they were giving a faint glow. She were smiling softly at him, gently rubbing her thumb over his cheek. «Thank you.» she said softly.

He gave a soft s chuckle. «For what?»

«For being worried about me, it just means that you care...» she softly replied and moved her hand off his cheek.

As she removed her hand from his cheek, he reached up for hers, gently running his thumb over her skin, lightly tracing one of the stripes on her cheek. «Who wouldn’t be worried?» he murmured softly.

Feeling her heart flutter, she closed her eyes and lightly leaned into his hand. It couldn’t be seen because it was dark, but her cheeks were as red as they could get. She wanted to move away, but couldn’t, the feeling of being safe came over her, which made her just stay in place, and lightly lean into his hand. Looking into each others eyes, he moved his hand slightly behind to her neck, slowly pulling her down to him, only for her to panic when their noses almost were touching, turning her head away in a hurry.

«Right...» she muttered softly and moved away from him, over to her side and got under the duvet, pulling it over her. «Good night...» she added.

Gladion didn’t know how to really react, but when he finally realized what he were doing, he facepalmed. The smack he made were quite loud, which made him mutter softly. «Ouch...»

Pushing his bangs away, he took a quick look over at her, meeting the sight of her back facing him. It felt quite disheartened for him, but he were sure that she didn’t have those fox ears for a second when he started to pull her down. He could swear on it that she looked human, as her markings on her cheeks were also gone for a second. Now that he looked at her, the ears were back, making him second question himself, thinking that he was probably just tired and his mind starting to see things that wasn’t supposed to be. As well as it was dark, so the darkness could have been a major factor for his mind to erase them from her without him noticing properly. Turning to his side, and getting comfortable again, he eventually managed to fall asleep again, but not after keeping in mind her quite scared, yet comfortable expression before she moved away.


	29. New Strategy

A few weeks passed, and Luna had been rather silent most of the time, almost to the point it looked she were regretting everything she had done up to this point. She didn’t say anything about it to Gladion, as she didn’t want him to worry about her, despite him doing just that. On their way to the college Luna were walking beside him as usual, but her mind were quite busy, thinking over the fact that she were a human born Fable, or Fae. She didn’t even know anymore as she let out a soft sight. Gladion took a quick look over at her, but after that night, it had also been quite awkward for him as well, trying to figure out why he started to pull her down towards him. He got to the conclusion that he were just tired at the time and didn’t think straight, trying to leave it with that, but just glancing over at her made that memory harder to forget. Though, he didn’t regret it, which he did find quite odd for being him. Getting to the college grounds, and over to the building where the first class would take place, seeing fellow classmates getting into the building in front of them. Getting over to the door, Gladion opened it and kept it open for Luna to get through, nodding to her to get in before him, which she did and passed him. 

«Thank you.» she muttered softly.

«Don’t mention it.» he replied and followed after behind her. «You are unusually quiet though...»

«Oh...Sorry...I just have a lot on my mind.» she muttered and gave him a sheepish smile.

He just hummed softly as they got over to the classroom they were going to use. «About that...umm...I’m sorry.» he muttered softly.

Luna blushed. «It’s fine...It’s fine...It was late, and i had woken you up, so you were most likely not thinking straight..» she said, nodding lightly.

Gladion hummed softly. «Most likely...»

Getting into the classroom, they got over to a desk and sat down. Luna let out another soft sigh, debating with herself if she should tell him what she got to know, or if she should be silent about it. Gladion were checking his phone a little, but couldn’t focus right, seeing that Luna were still quite out of it from the corner of his eyes. Checking the few things in a hurry, he put the phone back into his pocket and leaned back onto the chair. She were looking around the room, seeing the other Fae’s and their humans having conversations. In the back of her mind, she knew she would most likely have to tell him, not wanting to keep any secrets, as she knew that would make everything worse in the long run, at least for the next two years that she were going to be his designated ‘Fae’ while he were taking classes. For the past year, being in her feral form, she did get to know him to an extent, as she kept being persistent. Now it was a different approach to it, which she knew came along when she got into her humanoid form, and she tried her best to be the same, but it was hard as she started to see him in a different light.

_ Seeing the world? Who am i kidding… _

Luna gave herself a half hearted smile, which was something Gladion noticed. «What’s funny?» he asked, scanning the room.

She gave a soft giggle. «Nothing.» she replied, giving him a sweet smile.

He just hummed softly. «Right...»

«Don’t believe me?» she asked.

«Not really.» he replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

Luna just rolled her eyes. «Of course.» she muttered softly. She leaned over to him. «Sorry i have been so weird and silent...»

«That’s fine...Can’t say i have been any better.» he muttered.

«Dork.» she quickly replied, chuckling softly.

«Dumb dog.» he said.

She sent him a glare, to which he just gave her a glare back. Sitting there in silence, she eventually snorted and had to look away. Luna ended up giggling, which just made him smile softly.

«I win.» he added, smirking over at her.

She couldn’t stop giggling. «Whatever.» she muttered, waving her hand at him.

The teacher eventually came into the classroom, and started on the subject as quickly as he stepped inside. Luna had a hard time keeping her giggling silent throughout the class, as well as it affected Gladion slightly, just making him keep a soft smile on his face, finding her giggles cute. The class wasn’t to interesting and ended quickly. Once it ended, most of the others packed and got out and headed towards the fields in a hurry, wanting to get some of the good battlegrounds. The others in the class were excited, as the next class, that would most likely take the whole day were about battles, practice and trying out the different strategies at the battle fields. Gladion weren’t to excited about it, but he would at least take a few mental notes about what he saw. Chad, who were in that class were still on the lookout for Luna, and still wanted to challenge Gladion to a battle, even if it meant that he would have to give up the champion title to persuade him. He kept somewhat of an eye on them as Gladion packed down the textbook, and both of them starting to head out of the room. As they got walked out of the door, Chad more or less hurried to get his stuff packed and hurried after them, wanting to see if he could get a chance to challenge him. Other had noticed that he were quite interested in the two, and were thinking that Chad were having a  _ thing _ for Gladion, mostly because he didn’t say anything or tried to have a conversation, just creeping around him.

Gladion and Luna knew that he were lurking around them, and were creeped out, but they knew that he was interested in Luna only. It was quite annoying, but couldn’t predict what he would do, other than that it would be something annoying. Getting out of the building and walking off, turning the corner, and Luna said something that made Gladion look at her with big eyes. Chad didn’t hear it, but from the expression he made, it definitely was something of interest.

«I’ll tell you when we get home...It’s better to let you know...as well as you’ll most likely figure it out yourself.» she said, giving him a sweet smile. She had given it a lot of thought, but figured that she would just come out clean before anything else happened.

«Alright. Should i be scared?» he asked, clearly being sarcastic.

Luna giggled softly. «I don’t think so.»

Chad got utterly interested in that, and would like to know, but since she wouldn’t say anything before they got back to his apartment, he silently growled to himself. He slowly followed after them, trying to think of a way to get that information, but decided quickly that he would challenge him first, seeing if he could get out a deal with that. Getting over to the battlefields, Gladion skimmed the place, deciding that they would just work out a new strategy of their own, knowing that she were still very much a free Fable, and he couldn’t really tell her to do anything. They stood there, watching the fields, skimming over the place properly as they were waiting for the teacher to get around and start the class. There was still a few minutes before the teacher arrived, so they just kept looking around. Chad walked over, standing a few feet away from them, but kept watching them from the corner of his eyes, making sure that he didn’t lose them out of his sight.

The teacher eventually got around, and quickly started with the class. Even a few of the classmates were slightly late, which she noticed but didn’t point it out, as she wasn’t the one to correct them in that matter. They knew the class were starting at a certain time, so they should know when they should be there. She continued in depth about a very common strategy before dismissing them to each of their fields, most of them working together to get a better result out off it. Gladion and Luna found their way to the field in the back, were no one had taken, it looking the most rundown one. They stopped and Gladion crossed his arms, looking at her. 

«So...new strategy?» he asked.

Luna walked a little to the front of him, her hands behind her back as she turned to face him. «I guess. Though i’m sure it’s hard to explain...but i’ll do my best.» she said and clapped her hands in excitement.

«Right...Not sure if i did follow, but i guess it’s going to work.» he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

«I’m sure. It just take some time to get used to it.» she replied and nodded. «It’s easier to do than shouting and stuff...which can get very distracting. For me at least.» she added.

Gladion nodded. «I can understand that.»

«So...let’s get started, shall we?» she said, giving him a sweet smile. Gladion nodded.

They sat down, facing each other, as she said that would be the best way, knowing that he probably would get quite dizzy from it. It being connecting their sight and thoughts, making it easier to say something or see something from all angles on her behalf. Gladion nodded, seeing the benefit out of it, as the opponent wouldn’t know what they would be talking about, as well as easier to predict something. At least that’s what he got from it.

«It’s only for battle purposes, as i don’t want to hear your thoughts all the time.» she said, giving him a sheepish smile.

«Wasn’t expecting anything else.» he flatly replied. Luna just giggled softly and nodded.

She scooted closer to him, to the point that they knees were touching as they were sitting with their legs crossed. She told him to sit straight and close his eyes, while she would do the magic of trying to connect the two one way or another. He just hummed softly and nodded slightly. He hesitated, but closed his eyes, and as he did, she put her index finger in between his eyebrows.

«I’ll just tell you what to do, and i’ll do the rest. Easier that way.» she told him.

«Alright...» he muttered softly, swallowing thickly.

«It might even take a while for the ‘link’ to connect, but...here we go.» she added. Gladion just hummed softly.

She kept the index finger between his eyebrows, starting to focus heavily herself, as it was was hard to get the connection, but once it was there, it was easy to maintain and jump on/off too. Her eyes became slitted, and starting to give a faint glow. A small glow also started to emit from her finger, and for Gladion, it were feeling like a faint warm spot. The warmth were feeling kinda nice, which made him relax. Luna started to mutter something, but he didn’t hear it, only when she jolted back, giving of a small yelp. He opened his eyes in a hurry, looking at her shaking her hand and looking somewhat in pain.

«Owowowow….» she muttered, shaking her hand violently.

«What happened?» he asked.

«Ow...You need to stop thinking, seriously.» she lightly hissed. «And you need to listen to what i say. DId you hear anything?»

«Can’t say i did, no.» he replied.

She sighed. «Right. Trying again then...Don’t get to relaxed, as you need to hear what i’m saying.» she added.

«I’ll do my best...»

Luna hummed softly and placed her finger between his eyebrows again, starting over again. She did already know that it would take a while, but as long as he willingly let her do it, she wouldn’t stop. At least not until either he or she got in some serious pain, which was something that could happen, but that would only depend on him, if he did listen to her, without getting too relaxed. Chad were keeping an eye on them, but got busy when the teacher asked him to help her again with other students that needed help. He agreed, but were still keeping a close eye on what they were doing, which he found strange, seeing her on occasion jolt her hand back, shaking it in slight pain, giving him a light slap on his arm and growling at him to stop and whatnot. Chad found it funny that he got scolded by his Fae, which was an uncommon sight. It was usually a Neko type that would scold their owner and the reason was that he or she would pull their tail, hurting them. The teacher had noticed the two doing whatever they wanted, but didn’t seem to want to interrupt, leaving them be and do their own thing.


	30. Connection

Sitting there, trying to get the thing going, but with no luck, and Gladion gradually getting irritated, as well as Luna who kept giving him a light slap on his arm, hissing at him to stop thinking and relax. Gladion would just growl back at her, snarling for her to stop hitting him. As the time flew by, they stopped, deciding to take a break from it. The  _ connection _ thing were definitely harder to do than it sounded, and it took a great toll on their mentality. Luna’s hand were feeling quite sore after the many small electric charges she got from whenever he started to think about something, making it harder each time to even get it working. They sat in the same position, him just looking at her while she rubbed her hand gently, growling lightly to herself. She definitely didn’t look happy, but he couldn’t help it. Gladion started to look around at the others, who were more or less yelling at their Fae’s an order, which just seemed off, even though it was common. A Fae should know the best way to fight, and not the other way around. Luna were thinking about how to make it easier for them to get it right, without her getting stung like that all the time. 

«This is getting ridiculous...» he muttered, looking around a little more before looking over at her.

«You don’t say?» she muttered softly back.

«Isn’t there an easier way? I’m sure you know of an easier way.» he said, his voice sounding quite stern.

«There is, but i’m sure you won’t like it.» she replied.

«Then i won’t ask about it...» he muttered.

They both sighed and hung their heads a little before Gladion got up on his feet, dusting off his pants a little. He placed his hands on his pockets and looked around at the others some more. Luna got up on her feet as well, thinking a little more about how to make it easier, without going to the extreme. They both just stood there, looking around a little, only for Luna to suddenly disappear forward, and hit the ground a few meters ahead of him. Gladion just stood there, looking at her slowly lift herself up from the ground.

«What the fuck…?» he muttered and looked behind him, seeing Chad with a mischievous smirk on his lips. Gladion frowned and hurried over to Luna. «Shit...Are you okay?»

She groaned. «I have been better...» she muttered and looked up at him. «That really hurt...» she added.

Gladion extended his hand to her, offering to help her up. She reached for his hand, only to get kicked off by Chad’s Fae, making her yelp in pain as she tumbled further a head. Gladion looked over at Chad, knowing fully well it was him doing something. «Chad! You motherfucker!» he snarled at him.

«I don’t know what you are talking about...It just seems that your Fae have agitated mine, and i’m definitely not going to stop him unless  _ she _ stops doing whatever she was doing.» he said, looking quite smug at him.

Gladion growled, looking over at Luna who tried to get up on her feet again, only to get kicked down. «She haven’t done anything!» Gladion snarled and hurried over to her.

The teacher heard it and hurried over to the field, telling them both to stop. Only to see that it was Chad’s Fae that were doing the beating, while Gladion haven’t ordered Luna to do anything. She growled for Chad to stop it, to which he just played dumb, saying that he didn’t do anything and that his Fae just started to act out on it’s own. Luna were pretty beaten up already, but had started to dodge the attacks that were coming her way. Gladion were looking over at her in horror, seeing her so beaten up, still getting attacked, and yet she didn’t attack back. The teacher were quite impressed on how she didn’t attack back, despite getting attacked. She hurried over to Chad, and started to tell him to get control over his face, as this was unacceptable. Chad just shrugged, and kept on telling the teacher that he couldn’t stop his Fae once it’s mind were set on attacking someone. Gladion heard the whole thing and already knew that that wasn’t the case. He clearly had ordered his Fae to attack, as the way the Fae kept looking over at Chad were a clear sign that it was looking for an order of some sort.

Luna were dodging to the best of her ability, but were gradually getting tired of it and had started to slow down, panting heavily. «Why are you attacking me!?» she hissed at the other Fae.

«Because i was ordered to do so...and i alway follow my orders.» he replied, landing a fist on her abdomen, making her cough heavily.

He took a few steps back, looking at her holding her stomach in pain, coughing. Gladion saw that he had stopped attacking her, and were just looking down at her with a pitiful look. «Luna!» he shouted over at her.

Chad’s Fae looked behind him, looking straight at Gladion. Luna slightly looked up at him, still panting heavily and being in quite the pain. Her ears were laying flat on her head, and her eyes were slitted. She coughed a little, ending up coughing up some blood. Seeing the blood made Gladion panic, not really sure what to do in the situation, as it was all so sudden and not planned. Luna kept herself to the rules, which were not to engage if something were to happen, unless their owner or human said they could. The teacher were still trying to talk to Chad, which he kept on playing dumb, to the point that Gladion got really irritated and gave Luna a nod as they eyes met. Luna nodded back and started to focus on her breathing, getting control over it before she in a mere second disappeared from the Fae’s sight, which surprised him as he started to look around itself. In that short period of time, she appeared in front of Gladion, quickly muttered a few words and poked him between his eyebrows.

_ «Be my eyes in the back. And i’ll be yours.» _

Gladion looked at her with big eyes for a few seconds before it turned to a smirk. «And vice versa i guess?» he asked.

Luna just smiled sweetly and turned around, them both looking at the Fae that were still quite confused as it turned around, finding Luna again, but were still confused as of how she ended up behind him and over at Gladion’s side. Her eyes slowly started to gain a gradient green color, as well as his eyes slowly gained a grey gradient, indicating that their vision were connected. Whatever he saw, she would be able to see and vice versa. Gladion looked over at Chad.

«Have it your way then...But don’t expect her to hold back.» he hissed at him.

Chad just chuckled softly. «Hold back? You make me laugh. She’s all beaten up, and i’m sure she won’t last for long after getting beaten up like that...I mean...Just look at her?» he said, keeping the smirk on his face.

Gladion just shrugged. «Your loss i guess...» he muttered.

The teacher gave up and just let them do the thing, wanting to see what the result would be now that Gladion accepted the challenge. Luna slowly took a few steps forward, only for the Fae to launch at her. Luna held her hands together and formed a blue orb of energy, keeping it as the Fae got closer before she fired at him, hitting him in his abdomen. The power made the Fae jolt back hard, ending up hitting the brick wall surrounding half of the fields around the college grounds. He groaned as he hit the wall, but quickly got up on his feet and launched again at her. She moved out of Gladion’s front, only for the Fae to shift in a hurry, and kept launching at her. Chad were looking slightly horrified, not knowing how she could move like that after taking a massive beating. Since Luna had taken quite the beating beforehand, she wasn’t as quick as she used to be, but managed at least to get away from most of his punches. She got hit a couple of more times, and as she did, the link she and Gladion had been working on earlier were slowly getting stronger. Luna didn’t manage to dodge a punch from the Fae, and got hit rather hard, making her cough up some more blood.

_ Luna!? _

_ Shut the fuck up and let me work!! _

Gladion got really surprised, getting a reply from her in his mind. He just looked over at her dumbfounded, to which she did the same.

_ Oh...It’s working!!  _ She exclaimed in her mind, making him lightly flinch.

_ What the fuck...This is weird… _ He muttered, not being to impressed by it.

_ Shut up. It’s working and that’s all that matters… _ She replied, dodging another attack from the Fae.

_ Whatever works i guess...And...only we can hear this? _ He asked, not really sure how it was working out.

_ Yeah. It’s in our mind after all...Something like ‘mind reading’ if you would like. _ She replied quickly.

_ Great…  _ He muttered and kept his eyes on the field, looking at her dodging and attacking as she found an opening to do so.

The battle kept on going for a while, and Luna were gradually getting more and more fatigued, and knew she had to end it rather quickly. She definitely didn’t want Gladion to carry her home, that would be to much, even for him. As the Fae launched she dodges, taking a few jumps back, gaining some distance. She stretched both of her arms out in front of her, creating a rainbow colored sphere around her, charging up as the Fae got himself ready to launch at her again, thinking of the next attack to be the last. She kept standing her ground as he suddenly launched at her, only for him to get blinded by a great source of light emitting from her. The shine got brighter and brighter, making him stop as he got blinded. Luna then took the opportunity to get in the last attack of hers. She clenched her fist tightly, her hand getting surrounded by a purple aura before she launched, focusing the last of her energy into that one punch as she hit him straight on his lower jaw. He punch were enough to knock the Fae out, but she still got very much hurt by it as she watched the face collapse, fainting. Chad were gasped in horror, luckily he didn’t bet his champion title, as he for sure would have lost if. The connection between Luna and Gladion quickly fainted as she collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily and generally being in a lot of pain, groaning lightly.

Gladion hurried over to her, and kneeled down to her. «That was...something...Anyway...How are you feeling though?»

Luna just looked up at him. «Ow...» she lightly muttered, whining it softly.

Gladion snorted lightly. «Right...»

He got up on his feet again, and extended his hand to her, offering her to help her up on her feet. She took his hand and got up on her feet, only for her to groan and lightly whine in pain. The teacher were scolding Chad, and gave a quick look over at Gladion which made him flinch, knowing what was coming up after she were done with Chad. She had dismissed the other students, though, many of them were still around, but as quickly as the match were over, they scattered and started to leave in a hurry, not wanting to be around and possibly get scolded themselves by the teacher there. Luna gave a sheepish chuckle, only to get over run by some of the pain she felt. After the scolding with Chad, ordering him to get off and she’ll see him tomorrow, she walked over to Gladion, where Luna were leaning onto him, looking quite beat. Chad were walking over to his Fae and poked him for a little, waiting for it to wake up so he could get going, be rather ashamed that he lost, and he were the  _ champion _ of this region after all. As his Fae woke up, and got up on its feet after a while, Chad glanced over at Luna, and were more interested in her. Petite, pretty and quite powerful. Exactly what he liked in a female Fae. The teacher gave Gladion a good scolding before ordering him to get home and make sure that his Fae, Luna, were taking care of and healed up. Luna just gave her a sheepish smile while Gladion nodded, not really listening.

«It was a good battle nonetheless.» the teacher added and turned around, walking off.

Gladion were looking quite dumbfounded, same with Luna as they exchanged looks. Luna just shrugged slightly while holding onto him as they started to walk off. They got to the main gate and Luna waited for him to get back to the battlefields as he forgot the bag. She stood there, looking around while having her arms around her, shivering slightly from the adrenaline from the fight, as well as trying to look normal and masking the pain she were feeling. Gladion got back as quickly as possible, and lended her his arm, as he saw she had a hard time walking. Since the practice and the battle, the day flew by, and they were on their way back to the apartment, which took longer than usual, Luna being the one needing to take her time. Getting up to their floor and into the apartment, Luna got over to the couch in a hurry, just dumping herself onto it while giving a soft sight. She were quite bruised up and had gotten a few scratches, so once she were down on the couch, he but his bag down and got the first aid kit and got over to her. She slowly sat up again, while he lightly started to patch her up.

«Why didn’t you defend yourself when it attacked?» he asked, cleaning up some of the cuts and scratches on her hands and arms.

«Because rules…?» she muttered.

«You should be allowed to defend yourself at least.» he replied, giving her a knowingly look.

She groaned lightly. «Didn’t know that...The rules are so...weird worded...» she muttered, flinching. «Ow...»

«Sit still.» he told her in a stern voice. «And i can agree that they are...weird... to some extent.» Luna just hummed and nodded lightly.

Gladion continued to patch her up to the best of his ability, listening to her whine softly. He hated hearing her whine, but he knew it was because she was in a slight pain. Packing up the first aid kit, and putting it away, he tossed a blanket over to her, telling her to wrap her and try and relax if possible. She didn’t protest and wrapped herself in the blanket and threw herself over on the couch, getting as comfortable as possible as Gladion got to get changed into casuals, then starting on something to eat.

«What do you want to eat?» he asked, thinking that she wasn’t hungry or anything.

«You are a simple human...so something simple.» she replied.

Gladion scoffed and rolled his eyes. «Right...» he just muttered.

«Ugh...I’m going to be sore tomorrow...» she muttered.

«That’s your fault.» he replied quickly, starting to make some simple sandwiches.

«I know that already, thank you very much!» she hissed, followed by a soft groan.

Gladion just chuckled, which made her growl at him. He finished making the food and got over to the sitting area, placing the plate on the table in front of her. She slowly sat up and reached for a slice, starting to slowly eat it. Gladion got the school bag and sat down in the chair beside the couch, getting started on some of the homework, and hopefully getting it over with, considering that Luna would keep on whining in pain and, most likely, want to get some attention from him. After she finished to eat the food, she kept on sitting there and looked over at him while he were doing the homework they had gotten. She eventually dropped down onto the couch again, curling up under the blanket and slowly drifted off to sleep, wanting to sleep off the pain and fatigue from the battle earlier that day. Gladion glanced over at her real quick, seeing that a black eye and a few more bruises were appearing, it definitely wasn’t a pretty sight as he narrowed his eyes, cursing under his breath.


	31. Sudden Jolt

The previous day passed with her softly whining, which Gladion found quite irritating, and told her to stop several times. She kept apologizing for it, but she couldn’t really help it either, as she were quite sore and were hurting all over. She eventually just went to bed, laying there for the rest of the day while Gladion got around to finish his homework and reply to a few mails from Aether, as per usual. As well as a call from Lillie, which were going on for hours at end. The call ended, he ran a few errands before the evening started to creep on, to which he eventually also went to sleep for the night. Waking up the next morning, he got ready, but Luna were still in bed. Not sure if she were fully awake or still sleeping, he got over to her side, and sat down on the edge, looking down at her.

«Luna?» he called for her gently. She just hummed softly. He couldn’t see her face, as she had pulled the duvet over her head, only her ears were showing on the pillow, twitching slightly. «You staying here or tagging along?»

She pulled the duvet down slightly, revealing her face, and a massive bruise around her eye. Gladion just looked at her with big eyes, and Luna just narrowed her eyes at him. «It’s that bad?» she asked, groaning slightly.

«You want to know?» he replied.

«Is it big?»

«Humongous.»

She sighed and rolled her eyes. «Great...» she muttered.

He chuckled softly. «You look like a fucking pirate.» he said to her, gently tracing around her black eye. 

«Yarr...» she muttered back. «This pirate is staying at home.» she added.

«Alright.» he chuckled softly. «Don’t sink the ship while i’m gone.» he said as he got up from the bed, starting to walk off.

«No promises!» she shouted after him.

Gladion were about to walk out of the bedroom when she said it, and looked over at her, ready to snarl for her to not do anything, only seeing her tail slightly wagging, as well as a soft giggle came from her. He couldn’t help but to smile softly. He walked out, closing the bedroom door, grabbed his bag and keys to the apartment, and then left for classes.

**\----------**

The day passed rather quickly and Gladion were eventually on his way back to the complex, but got stopped by a fellow classmate, a girl. She called out for him and were rather timid as she walked up to him. She stopped in front of him and were asking a few questions, which he didn’t hear, as she were talking rather silently.

«Sorry? Didn’t catch that...» he muttered.

«Oh…umm...» she muttered, taking a deep breath. «I was just...wondering on something...» she started, taking another deep breath. «I was just wondering if you would...like to go out...sometime?» she asked.

Gladion blushed, as he certainly didn’t plan on anything of the sorts. «Sure, i guess...» he muttered in response.

The girl lighted up. «Really? Great!» she exclaimed. She panicked a little, but found her phone and asked for his number. «I’ll figure out a time! So please don’t make to many plans in the future~.» she replied.

He nodded, and they exchanged numbers before she gave him a sweet smile and ran off, giggling. Gladion didn’t really know why he agreed, but as he continued back to the complex, he figured that it would be a good change of pace to get out more, even if it was a date. If something did come up from it, it would, hopefully, be good. Getting into the complex building and taking the elevator up, he started to wonder what Luna had done all day, as she were still in bed when he left. At least she didn’t burn down the place. Getting to the right floor, he walked over to the apartment, unlocked the door and opened it, and the first thing he saw, were Luna, sitting in the couch and struggling with putting on new bandages on her arms, covering the many scratches she had gotten the day prior.

Gladion closed the door and sighed. «What are  _ you _ doing?»

Luna looked over her shoulder. «Trying to change the bandages…?» she muttered.

He sighed again, put his bag down and got over to her, sitting down beside her and just took over putting the bandages on. She were having a light blush on her cheeks, but it was hard to see under the black and blue bruises on her. Looking up at her, he started to feel slightly guilty, despite not knowing why or having a reason for feeling that way. He quickly brushed it off, and finished bandaging her up again. Luna just sat there, watching him patch her up, but occasionally flinched when he pushed to hard on a spot that were quite sore.

«Ow...» she muttered, and flinched. Jolting her arm away from him a little.

«Sorry...But you need to keep your arm still.» he lightly growled at her.

«Easier said than done...» she muttered softly. Gladion just hummed softly in response.

He finished and got up from the couch, walking off into the bedroom and quickly got changed into something else, but got quickly got a message on his phone. He got it up from the pocket and checked it quickly, the message being from the girl earlier, whose name were Valeria.

_ Hey...Sorry...Is this evening Ok? -  _ **_Valeria_ **

_ Sure. -  _ **_Gladion_ **

He replied quickly, but the growing feeling of guilt kept coming over him as he put the phone into his pocket again, walking out to the living room, finding Luna inspecting her arms that were now all bandaged up, and still sporting a black eye. He asked if she had eaten anything, to which she said she had, and there was leftovers in the fridge if he wanted some. He nodded and got over to the kitchen area, looking into the fridge, finding an easy made stew she probably had made, as of why she were changing the bandages.

«This the reason you needed to change the bandages?» he asked, taking the bowl out of the fridge, placing it on the counter before finding a plate to get something for himself.

«Yeah...Kinda wanted to change these before you got here...but you know the rest...» she replied timidly.

Gladion hummed softly. «Alright. Just let me do it the next time, and don’t even bother start changing it if you can’t do it yourself.» he lightly hissed at her.

«Yeah...yeah...» she replied, waving her hand at him.

He took some of the food onto a plate and put it in the microwave, heating it up a little as he put the rest of the stew back into the fridge. Closing the fridge, he got a new message, and quickly checked it.

_ Great! Umm...7pm okay? And can you meet me at the main gate at college? I don’t really know my way around this city to well… -  _ **_Valeria_ **

_ That’s fine. I’ll see you there then. -  _ **_Gladion_ **

_ Awesome~. Later, Gladion~. -  _ **_Valeria_ **

Gladion put his phone down into his pocket again, and as he did, the microwave’s alarm got off, telling him that his food were now heated up. He took the plate out, found a fork and started to eat it while closing the microwave door. Her cooking were getting better for each time she did it, and were quite impressed, as well as feeling a little lucky to have a Fable that were interested in trivial stuff like that. Knowing him, if she wasn’t around or even interested in it, they would be living on instant noodles most of the time, he were sure of that. Stuffing his face with it, Luna just glanced over at him, looking rather unimpressed.

«Glad you like it.» she said softly, followed by a sweet smile.

A blush came to his cheeks. «I’m sure i would have been dead if you weren’t around to feed me like this.» he replied, giving her a smirk.

Luna just nodded. «I’m very sure of that too.» she said, followed by a soft giggle. Gladion just scoffed lightly and continued to eat.

Luna turned her back at him, and sighed lightly, getting comfortable in the couch as she put on the TV. She didn’t want to move much, as whenever she did, it was painful and she wanted to avoid feeling that as much as possible. Gladion mentioned that he’ll be out for the evening.

Luna’s ears perked up and she looked over her shoulder at him. «Oh? Where are we going?» she asked.

« _ I _ am going. You are staying here.» he quickly replied. 

«Oh...Okay.» she replied, nodding lightly. «Just need time for yourself?» she asked, looking a little worried.

«No, i’m just going out on a date for once...» he muttered, feeling rather ashamed when telling her.

«Ooh~. A date?» she murmured. «Who’s the lucky girl?»

«None of your business.» he hissed.

«You better tell me...i’ll figure it out anyway.» she replied quickly and snarky.

Gladion groaned, as he knew that were true. «Name is Valeria.» he muttered.

Luna nodded. «Ah, alright. Have fun i guess~.» she replied, smirking at him. Gladion scoffed at her and finished the plate with food, putting it in the dishwasher.

Gladion joined Luna on the couch, watching some of the shows that were getting up on the channel until he had to get ready and meet Valeria at the main gate. The hours passed rather quick, and he quickly got ready and left, leaving Luna behind to do her own thing. She just wished him well and told him to be nice, which he just sent her a glare for. Luna just giggled softly while the door closed to the apartment, and Gladion were walking down the corridor to the elevator. Luna sat there in silence, watching the TV screen while the feeling of being lonely slowly crept onto her. She shaked her head, found the blanket and wrapped herself in it and continued to watch the TV show, ignoring the feeling to the best of her ability. Gladion got down and headed out of the complex, starting to head towards the main gate to meet up with Valeria. It was still quite light outside, but as Christmas were slowly approaching, it was slowly starting to get darker for each day that passed. Like last year, he would most likely stay in this region and spend the days with Luna, just watching some bad Christmas shows on the TV and having a laugh at how bad those shows and movies were. Walking down the streets, he eventually got over to the main gate, but didn’t see anyone. Looking at the time on his phone, he saw that he were a few minutes early, but not for long. Valeria eventually arrived, apologizing that she were late while panting slightly, indicating that she had been running over. She told him that she didn’t plan much, but something to eat and just generally walk around and talk, getting to know each other better, which he agreed on. They walked off, getting something to eat first before continuing to walk around the city.

Luna kept herself busy with the TV, but the lonely feeling were lingering, and she didn’t like it. It had been a while since she had felt it, and had forgotten how bad it was. Last time she felt it were over a year ago, sometime before Gladion accepted her offer when he were forced to get a Fae because of college. Not really sure on how to deal with it anymore, she just sunk down in to the couch, pulling the blanket more over and around herself, keeping her attention on the TV. She sat like that for hours, the feeling getting worse. Gladion and Valeria had been walking around the city, somewhat talking. Gladion were quite tired of it all, as he wasn’t able to get in a word at all between her talking, and about her only. Ending up at the main gate again, he were about to turn around after telling her goodbye and goodnight, wanting to get away as quickly as possible, being both quite uncomfortable and tired. In a hurry, she pulled him down by the collar and placed her lips on his. He got shocked at first, but kissed back quickly, keeping it long. It had been a while since he had felt any warmth of this sort, and couldn’t help himself melt into it. Well into it, he felt a light jolt in his chest. As he felt the jolt, Luna felt the same one, but slightly stronger. She didn’t know what it was, nor how to react to it other than to clench the shirt she was wearing tightly over her heart, as it felt rather painful. She took a few deep breaths, and thinking about other things, trying to figure out what would have caused it, only for nothing to come up. An overwhelming feeling of sadness overcame her, to the point that tears were starting to form in her eyes, slowly falling down her cheeks. She didn’t know why and wiped them off quickly, only for it to continue. Rationalizing it by thinking it was probably just her feeling completely lonely, she decided to go to bed, sleeping it off.

On the way back after he and Valeria had parted ways, he kept thinking about the light jolt he felt earlier, which were rather painful. Not sure what it was, nor what it could be, he shrugged it off, but couldn’t help feeling incredible guilty for Luna. He kept thinking on it as he got back to the apartment, finding it dark and silent, as he had gathered some courage to ask Luna about it, wanting to find an answer to the jolt feeling from earlier, but found her asleep instead. Not wanting to wake her up, he decided to ask her about it the next day as he got himself ready for the night. He got under the duvet and were facing her, looking at her being sound asleep for a while, at least until he slowly drifted off himself.


	32. Hometown Smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this while listening to "Hometown Smile" by Bahjat

Days passed, and those days started to become weeks, then months, and Gladion managed to convince himself that Valeria were a girl he managed to fall for, and ended up in a relationship with her. Luna were telling him to go for it, only for her to slowly starting to feel the distance grow between them as he spent more time with her. Luna knew he needed to be around other humans, and get a life of his own and that she had no intention to hold him back either, just wanting him to be happy. Despite the distance slowly growing, Valeria had been quite mean and hateful towards her, which was the main reason for her and Gladion to be more on edge, and had been fighting a lot. She had noticed something after a while that Valeria had malicious intentions, and tried to bring it up, being worried for him, only for him to tell her off and call her crazy, being jealous. The fights between them were meaningless, but Gladion were known to have a short fuse and were quick to anger, despite that, Luna did her best to at least try to get the point across.

It was fine sometimes, and they could have conversations, but that was whenever Luna didn’t bring up Valeria, and that she felt something were off about her. Without Gladion knowing, Valeria had been hateful towards her, which was the main problem of the two falling out, making Luna question why she even did stay around anymore, to the point that she highly considered to just leave, which she eventually did. Gladion had gotten ready to get over to the battle dome, as the class were going to meet up there, watching a few battles and, as always, asked if Luna were tagging along or not, especially since they were going to the battle dome, knowing that she liked to watch them on the TV, trying to get new ideas for whenever she would battle, which was rare, but she liked to watch it nonetheless. She said no, and that she would be staying at home, not feeling to well, which he just nodded at, telling her to take care as he left, meeting up with Valeria at the front door to the complex, walking over with her. As quickly as he left, she got up from the couch, as she had been sleeping there for a while, looking out the windows, seeing him walk off with someone she found toxic. Feeling a growing lump in her throat, she tried to swallow it as she watched them walk off. The loneliness feeling came over her like a truck, tears quickly starting to form and run down her cheeks. She turned away from the windows, taking the ID tag off her wrist, placing it on the kitchen counter before she walked out of the door, and quickly vanished using her magic, not wanting to be around any longer. Finding her way to the nearby park, she placed herself in the rundown shed that were there, hiding in the dark while trying to control the tears that were streaming down her cheeks, silently sobbing as she pulled her knees up to her chin, burying her face in her knees while wrapping her tail around her. Hikari had sensed some disturbance with her, as she had secretly been keeping an eye on her, quickly found her, only to see her very heartbroken.

 **_I don't care what they do  
_ ** **_I just wanna be with you  
_ ** **_And I don't mind all the times  
_ ** ******_We will fight just to get through_**

«Yami...» she muttered and walked up to her, sitting down on her knees beside her, and pulled her into a hug.

«Hikari...I think i’m infected...» she muttered between the sobbing.

«I can tell...I’m sorry.» she replied softly, gently rubbing her back. As much as Hikari had told her that she didn’t like her, she couldn’t help but to care, have being her older sister for years before her own sister, Kage, passed, and were wrongfully blaming Luna for it.

The day were pretty dull and boring, and Valeria gave Gladion an invitation for a family dinner, as she wanted him to meet her family. He said he’ll think about it, and give her a proper reply in good time before that. He just had to make sure that there was nothing going on with his family first, which seemed like Valeria did understand and nodded. Getting back from the battle dome, they shared a kiss before he watched her walk off, waving and giving him a sweet smile. Watching her disappear into the distance, he walked into the building and taking the elevator up. While walking down the hallway, he found the keys to the apartment and unlocked the door, walking in.

«Luna?» he called out for her, not to see her in the living room, nor in the kitchen area.

Shrugging, he closed the door and figured that she had taken place in the bed, sleeping there as it the traffic at night could be quite loud, and considering that, she probably didn’t get much sleep. Getting over to the bedroom, making sure that he were as silent as possible when he opened the door, only to not see her in there either. He looked around the room a little, and changed into casual clothes in a hurry before calling for her again.

«Luna?»

Walking out to the living room again, taking a good look around, only to find the ID tag on the counter when he got fully into the kitchen area. The color on his face drained as he walked over and picked up the ID tag. Holding the ID tag tightly, he slowly felt a lump form in his throat, and it was feeling quite heavy. He called out for her, hissing that if this was a joke, it definitely wasn’t funny while pacing around the apartment, trying to find her while clenching the ID tag tightly. Not getting a reply just made the whole situation worse, as well as not finding her. Slowly getting over to the dinner table, he sat down, running his hand through his bangs, not really sure how to react to her being gone, and most likely forever. He flinched when his phone’s alarm got off, and quickly got it up from his pocket, only to see the background photo he had, which Lillie had taken a day before they left Alola earlier that summer. It was in the office, him looking rather irritated when she were hanging over him, rubbing her cheek against his. The memory were quite vivid in his mind, as he could remember it like it was yesterday. He had been buried in papers for hours, and she had, apparently, had enough and decided to mess with him, only for Lillie to get in at the same time, giggling and taking a picture of them. Mostly for blackmail to herself, but she sent it to him, which he found kinda funny and put it as a background for his phone.

 **_All through my life, I finally realized.  
_ ** **_That home is not where you go.  
_ ** **_'Cause now I need, only you and me.  
_ ** **_And wherever we'll be.  
_ ** ******_We'll never get lost._**

He kept looking at the background picture of his, and without noticing, the lump in his throat had grown bigger, and tears were slowly finding their way down his cheeks. Just realized that he had taken her presence for granted, as well as he did consider her a friend, one of the best, despite being a Fable. She had always been there, at least it felt like that, and helped him grow as a person, protecting him and his family, as well as protecting him from his own mother at times.

Wiping his cheeks and eyes, he kept looking down at the table. «What the fuck have i done…?» he muttered to himself.

Instead of sitting there, sobbing to himself, he started to go through what Luna had said, or at least tried to tell him the last couple of times, which ended up in fights. Knowing fully well that he were quite explosive when he were angered, he couldn’t help but to admire her to actually stand her ground around him. The alarm on his phone were from a message from Valeria, though, he didn’t reply to it, just scowling at the sight of her name. Removing the notification, he got up from the chair and got a jacket on, as well as putting on shoes, deciding to go and look for Luna, thinking that she might still be in the region, or at least in the city if he were lucky enough to find her again. Hurrying out, he recalled what she had said about the eerie feeling she got from Valeria, which he didn’t really remember to much of, as he kept dismissing it, not wanting to listen at her, which he now did regret greatly. For the time Luna had been around, she had, most of the time, been right about people being toxic. Hurrying into the elevator, taking it down to the lobby area, and quickly getting out. He kept the ID tag on him just in case, but he were almost sure that he wouldn’t be able to persuade her to come along and keep being around him, which was quite disheartening on its own. Starting to walk down the street, just generally looking around as the day slowly got darker when the evening crept on.

 **_You got that hometown smile  
_ ** **_You got that look in your eyes  
_ ** **_That says "Oh, everything will one day be alright"  
_ ** **_You got that hometown smile  
_ ** **_You got that look in your eyes  
_ ** ******_And I'll do anything just to keep you by my side_**

Luna were still in the shed with Hikari, just sitting there in silence while Hikari were trying to say something clever, but failed, only making it worse. She didn’t know how Luna felt, but from her expression, she was definitely upset and had a lot on her mind. Hikari already knew it was her human emotions that were doing their ‘magic’ on her, messing her up to the point that she couldn’t think clearly.

«Yami...Will you be fine if i leave?» she asked. Luna just nodded and hummed softly. Hikari cupped her cheeks and made her look up at her. «You’ll be fine...Maybe you’ll even claim your last tail if you get over this.» she added, trying to sound uplifting.

«What’s the point of that?» she asked between her light sobbing.

«I know it sounded very heartless, but think about it at least. Anyway...I can’t stay around for much longer, as you know...i’m only a illusion, being in Kanto an all.» she said, giving her a soft, reassuring smile.

Luna nodded. «I know...I’ll just...Stay here for a while...» she muttered.

Hikari nodded. «Alright...Just call for me if you need me again. Ok?» she said. Luna hummed softly and slightly nodded.

And with that, Hikari disappeared from her sight. Luna buried her face in her knees again, holding around her legs tightly as her tail tightened around her, continuing to silently sob, trying her best to get a grip of herself and stop crying. Feeling a cold breeze hit her, she just summoned the rest of her tails, wrapping herself in them while continued to sit there, trying to collect herself. Gladion had been around most of the first street, and were starting on a new one, looking thoroughly around every back street, already knowing that she most likely would be hiding. The time passed quickly, and he had almost been around the entire city, or at least it felt like it when he stopped to take a breather, rethinking and going through the streets in his mind, trying to figure out if he had missed some places. Being sure that he didn’t miss anything, he straightened up, leaning against the wall beside him, his hand rubbing his forehead in frustration while looking down at the ground. It was dark, and very late as he checked the time on his phone. He had been out for hours trying to look for her, only to end up feeling more guilty and blaming himself for her leaving. Slowly starting to head towards the complex again, he passed the park and decided to just take a quick look, ruling it out before heading back to the apartment. Walking in, he decided to take the route around the entire park, making sure that he didn’t miss any spots. While walking, it started to snow, which made him stop and look up, seeing the snowflakes gently falling down, hitting the ground and slowly covering up the entire place, making it a winter wonderland. Walking past the shed, which was quite rundown, so he didn’t bother to look inside of it, thinking that just opening the door would make the entire thing collapse right away. Passing it, he headed out of the park, not finding her and headed towards the complex again.

Luna were still in the shed, but had cried herself to sleep. Her face still buried in her knees, and her tails still covering her, keeping her warm. For being asleep, she were always on alert, but this one time, she had dropped her defence and didn’t hear, nor notice anything while sleeping there for the rest of the night. Gladion got back to the apartment, tossed his shoes and jacket off before dumping himself on the couch, holding tightly on his phone while leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees while looking outside of the windows, looking out at the dark city, with the snow gently falling. Putting the phone on the table, he buried his face in his hands, not sure what to do as tears were slowly forming in his eyes again, feeling guilty.

 **_You got that hometown smile  
_ ** **_You got that look in your eyes  
_ ** **_That says "Oh, everything will one day be alright"  
_ ** **_You got that hometown smile  
_ ** **_You got that look in your eyes  
_ ** ******_And I'll do anything just to keep you by my side_**


	33. Realization

Gladion slept really bad, managed to fall asleep on the couch and freezing, and were not looking to good either while sitting in the classroom the next day. Valeria did notice the sudden change, but didn’t think to much about it, thinking that he were just having a bad day and that it would quickly pass. Fellow classmates also did take notice of it and kept their distance, as it looked like he could end up killing someone at any point. He occasionally looked at his phone, and weren’t sure why, only to take a quick look at the photo with her in it, then quickly put it away in his pocket again. He kept doing it throughout the day, and Valeria got increasingly irritated, thinking that he were ignoring her, to which he, more or less, was exactly doing. He couldn’t get Luna off his mind, feeling guilty and overall terrible. Classes went on as usual, but he didn’t really catch anything of that were said, being busy wondering where Luna had gone, and if she were gone for good, never coming back. The class ended and he started to find his way to the main gate, wanting to just hurry back to the apartment, trying to figure out where she went. On the way out, Valeria were walking beside him and asked if he had thought through the invitation for the Christmas dinner with her family.

«Oh...I still need a reply from my mother if i have to get back to Alola. I’ll let you know in good time before the dinner.» he replied flatly.

«Okay. Just asking.» she replied softly, giving him a small peck on his cheek before walking off.

He just stood there, watching her walk off before turning around, starting to head to the complex building. While walking the streets, he kept looking around, making sure that he didn’t miss anything or anyone that he passed, or that passed him, in case Luna would be around. Not seeing her as he reached the complex, he walked in, took the elevator up. While standing in in the elevator, some cheesy Christmas love music came on. He looked up at the ceiling, giving the speaker a glare before he sighed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly. The music irritated him more than it should, but he were relieved when the elevator stopped at his floor, so he could get out and going over to the apartment door. He hesitated when he unlocked it, not really want to get inside, knowing that he were alone. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and walked in, only for his mind to play tricks on him, hearing her voice wishing him a ‘welcome home’ as he entered. Shaking his head, he closed the door and got his shoes off. He just stood there, looking around the place a little before he dumped himself in the chair in the living room, dropping the bag on the side, before running his hands over his face, giving off a light groan.

Luna were still in the shed in the park, looking groggy and generally regretting staying there, but she didn’t want to go back either, so she kept sitting there, thinking of what she would be doing. After sitting there, just looking at the door, she got up from the corner she were sitting in, dusting off her pants and calling back most of her tails, thinking that it would be better to just walk around, and take a look around the city while she were in the region. Taking a deep breath, she walked out of the shed, making sure that no one saw her as she disappeared behind some trees. Lurking in the shadows for a while, she found her way up to the top of a building, taking a good look out at the city, that were quite massive, only been in a small portion of the place. Looking around, she decided to just explore, trying to move on with her life and find a way to get back to her home region. Looking at the tall buildings, she knew she wouldn’t be able to jump from rooftop to rooftop, so before she did that, she decided to do some training, as she needed it. She found some shelter on the top she already was on and placed herself under it, getting comfortable sitting there. She crossed her legs and took on a usual meditating position. She summoned her tails and wrapped them around her to keep her warm from the cold weather, as the breeze were picking up, starting to howl and get violent around the buildings. She felt slightly at ease, knowing that she could get to ground level if it became to violent sitting up there. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and started to focus on herself and not the surroundings around her, slowly drifting off into a dream like state, her tails slowly gaining a crimson gradient on them, as well as the tip of her ears, hair and bangs.

Gladion had gotten up from the chair and managed to get some of the homework done, but couldn’t focus properly. With a sigh, he got over to the fridge and opened it, only to see the dish Luna made the day prior. He took it out and took a plate of it, placing it in the microwave and heated it up for a minute. While waiting or the food to get warm, he took a quick sweep with his eyes around the apartment. It was silent, a bit to silent for his liking after getting used to have Luna around for over a year. A message came onto his phone, which was laying on the table, beside the book he were reading, vibrating like crazy. The microwave’s alarm got off, and he took the food out, getting a fork and walked over to the table, sitting down and took a look. The message were from Valeria, but he didn’t check it, nor did he want to reply. Sitting down again, he slowly ate the food, skimming the pages that were the homework his class had gotten. Sitting there, looking at the pages, not paying any attention to what he were reading, he looked outside of the windows, seeing the sky slowly get darker as the time passed, as well as his mind started to play tricks on him again. Hearing sounds and her voices coming from a different rooms in the apartment. It hit him a bit to close, realizing that she were more than just a Fable there to help, and more than just a  _ friend _ .

Sitting there, looking around the place, he flinched when his phone started to get loud. Taking a look at the screen, he groaned when he saw it was Valeria.

_ Fuck… _

He picked it up and took the call. «Yeah...?» he muttered.

«Hi, Gladion...I’m just worried. You didn’t reply to my text, and you have been acting weird today. How come?» she asked, sounding worried.

«I’m fine. Really. Sorry if i worried you.» he replied dryly.

«You sure? Your Fae isn’t being mean or something?» she asked.

«No. She’s...sick...so i’m just worried, i guess.» he muttered, looking down at the table.

«Oh, okay. Something else as well while i have you on the phone. You coming for Christmas? My mom needs to know since she’s making the food, and don’t want to make to little or too much.» she said in a singsong voice.

The say it sounded that she were worried for Luna being ‘sick’ made him rethink what Luna had mentioned before she disappeared. In fact, it sounded like she were happy about it. «I’ll give you a reply tomorrow about that.» he flatly replied. «I need to go though. Bye.» he added, quickly ending the call.

«Hey! Wait! Gladion….!» was all she managed to get out before he cut the call short.

He clenched the phone tightly and were about to throw it across the room, but stopped himself from doing so, taking a deep breath instead and lightly slammed it onto the table again, rubbing his temples while sighing deeply. He closed the book and put it back into the bag, finished eating the food, which had now gotten cold. He quickly finished it, taking the place and fork with him and placed it in the dishwasher before looking at the kitchen counter, seeing the ID tag again. Feeling his chest clenching tightly, he walked over to the front door, putting on some shoes and a jacket before grabbing the wallet and the keys in a hurry, going out for some fresh air, thinking of clearing his mind.

He got out of the complex, and headed down the street, not really knowing where he were going, but just started to wander about. He ended up in front of the park again, and looked inside from the outside a little. People haven’t been in there since it started to snow the previous day, as there was no footprints in the snow. Knowing that there wasn’t anyone in there, he decided to walk there, being out of sight and away from people in general. Walking in, he put his hand in his pockets and realized that he forgot his phone in the apartment. Cursing a little to himself, he didn’t bother to get back to just pick that up now that he already were outside. Looking around at the place, it was quite a pretty sight, all covered in untouched snow. The perfect winter wonderland. Walking around, he found a secluded area with a bench, and decided to take a ‘breather’ and do some thinking. Dusting off the snow, he sat down, and just kept looking around. Again, going through with what Luna had said about Valeria, that she found something eerie about her, and didn’t like her.

She had mentioned that there was something off on how she acted when she were around, only for her to he harsh and hateful towards her since day one, and sweet and caring whenever he were there. Also that she thought that she were the reason as of why the two of them were fighting a lot in the first place. He could agree that the fights were mostly because of Valeria, as whenever Luna brought her name up, trying to tell him something, and probably warn him, he literally snapped at her, dismissing most of her warnings and harshly telling her off.

«I’m sorry, Luna...» he muttered to himself. «If just listened for once...»

Reanalyzing whatever Luna had told him, trying to see it from her point of view, he could see that Valeria were quite toxic, and had other things on her mind. As much as she were showing her kind and caring side when he was around, trying to put himself in Luna’s position whenever he wasn’t around, he was, somewhat, able to imagine what Luna meant of her being harsh and hateful against her, which he understood now why Luna started to get so reserved and quiet, even though she tried her best not to let it affect her in anyway, though, it clearly affected them both, making him more irritated and harsh against her. Him being the usual explosive self were most likely the main reason why she left, and he hated that about himself. Pushing someone away that he actually cared for, and had gotten to know over a longer period of time. Even for not having her around in her humanoid form for to long, he did slightly admit to himself that she were pretty. Especially her eyes and smile. Thinking about her made a soft smile appear on his lips and a faint blush showing on his cheeks, as well as recalling the first time he saw her humanoid form earlier that year, which was quite the sight, but what stuck the most with him was how intense her glare was before she attacked that time. He had, he thought at least, met her before that, in that dream like state, but she never mentioned it or anything, so he took that as a very realistic dream, as well as she had picked him up the first year when being wasted. Something he wasn’t proud of at all.

Letting out a soft sigh and shaking his head, the regret of pushing her away came over him again, and the lump in his throat came back, fighting for it to not get to big while being out and about. Swallowing it, he got up from the bench, and stretched his back and decided to take a walk around the rest of the park before going back to the apartment. Walking around, he passed the shed as usual, it being close to the entrance of the park. Being lost in thought, it didn’t take long before he was back at the complex and in the apartment, only to get met with his phone being full of missed calls and text messages, all from Valeria. He didn’t bother to text her back, nor give her a call, but it didn’t take long before she called again, and he took it, already knowing that she would be mad.

«Yeah…?» he muttered, putting his jacket away as he sat down.

«I have tried to reach you for hours! Where have you been?! What have you been up to? And don’t tell me it’s because of your sick Fae...she should be able to take care of herself.» she hissed at him, clearly angry.

«She’s sleeping, thank you for your concern.» he replied. «And i have just been out for a walk, and forgot my phone...» he added, shaking his head.

«Oh...Okay...Good!» she said, suddenly sounding overly cheerful. «Hopefully your Fae won’t die...» she quickly added.

What she added didn’t sit well with him. He knew it wasn’t meant in a harmful way, but the way she said it were just off putting for him. He did listen to her for a while, before cutting it short, telling her that he had more things to do before the last few weeks started for college, needing to get things done and get presents for his family to send to Alola. Valeria didn’t sound to happy about him ending the call, but agreed and ended the call. Gladion could hear that she were growling in the background when he pushed the ‘end call’ button on his phone. He sighed softly again and put the phone down again onto the table, taking a last look outside, seeing that it had started to snow again. He decided that he would observe what Valeria were like whenever he mentioned Luna, and keeping the lie that she were sick and just at home, getting better. According to Luna, she would be ignorant and not want anything to do with her, even ignore and change the subject.

«We’ll see how that goes...And the Christmas dinner seems like a good start.»


	34. Christmas Dinner

The last few weeks passed, and he had agreed to join Valeria at the Christmas family dinner, thinking that he would find out more about her, and possibly why she were so snarky and harsh to begin with. In those weeks until that day, he had been paying attention to how she acted around other Fae’s, as well as whenever he mentioned that Luna were still ‘sick’, she got pretty ignorant, and tried to change the subject quickly. He did confirm the suspicions that he had about her not liking Luna, which was fine, but he didn’t get why she were to harsh on her and didn’t manage to fish anything out of her on that part, beside her behaviour that changed. College were done for the year, and he were at the at home, just getting ready to head out and meet up with Valeria, and head over to her family’s place, getting the dinner over with. He didn’t want to be there, but it was free food and a chance to find out more about Valeria. He got ready, making sure that he were at least decent in his old suit, which he hated to wear. With a sigh he got the shoes on and got his jacket, putting it on while being in the elevator. Valeria were waiting in the lobby, being all giggly as the security were keeping her company until he got down to the main floor and out of the elevator. After a few glances and a few words, the two left.

The walk were rather long and cold, but Valeria did look him up and down a few times, and couldn’t keep her smile off her face. Gladion noticed, but didn’t like it, getting rather uncomfortable while walking down the street. She didn’t stop talking either, talking about how her family were excited to finally meet him and ‘judge’ him, as she would put it.

«Hopefully they don’t judge me to harshly.» he said.

Valeria giggled softly. «I’m sure they won’t~.» Gladion just hummed in response to that, hating small talk.

She had her arm linked with his all the way over to her home, which was quite the mansion looking place. He hated the size, making him remember the mansion back in Alola and how tense it made him feel. In his mind, he were calling for Luna, hoping that she would hear him and appear, somewhat saving him from this evening, regretting to agree on going to this family dinner. Doing his best to keep himself calm proved to be hard while internally screaming that he should just run, since something felt really off when going up the front porch and inside. She guided him with her to the main dining hall, greeting a few others of her family, which was a big one. They were all excited for the new ‘meat’ as they called him, which he found weird, but didn’t think much of it, believing it was some kind of a slang they used for new people. Valeria dumped him in a chair at the table, beside some of her family members, which were looking like royalty. They were literally showing off their wealth, which was something he hated to do, being from a wealthy family himself. After an hour or so, Gladion had finally met everyone and the dinner were consumed. Valeria were as clingy on him as usual, but got very defensive when there was some talk about Fae’s and Fables. She had a Fae, but didn’t like to talk about it. It was rather odd seeing her so defencive, as she would usually be quite harsh and snarky when a Fae were mentioned.

After getting done with that conversation, which Valeria ended quickly, she got up from the chair and dragged Gladion with her out, looking quite annoyed, but once they were out of reach for her family, she dragged him with her to the garden, telling him that she did indeed have a Fae, but he were to massive to drag around.

«Basil is just...massive...which is why he’s always here at home, but he’s happy and can go wherever he wants.» she said, giving him a sweet smile. «As well as he loves his snacks~.» she added.

Gladion looked around the garden, not sure how massive this Fae of hers would be, as he couldn’t see it while looking around. «Right...» he muttered.

Valeria stopped and Gladion felt a sudden change of energy around her, and he didn’t like it. She called for the Fae, which slowly appeared, and were, as she said, massive. It wasn’t just a normal and massive Fae, it was a Fable like Luna, which made him get on guard, and feeling quite intimidated by the massive size, which was nothing compared to when he first met Luna.

«A feathered serpent…?» Gladion muttered.

Valeria nodded, and turned around towards him, giving him a sweet smile. «Yeah...He’s a big boy.» she said and giggled. The Fable curled itself around her, and gently lowered it’s head to her, lightly ‘resting’ it in her hand. «You hungry, love?» she asked the Fable.

«Very much so...» the Fable muttered in a deep voice. «You brought snack?»

Gladion didn’t like what he heard, and got even more uncomfortable. Valeria nodded to it, and looked over at Gladion. «Snacks are served~.» she said, which made Gladion get pale.

_ Shit… _

Gladion looked over at the Fable, which got up from her hand, showing its fangs while giving a low growl, getting ready to launch at him. «Seems like my time is up.» he muttered and took a few steps towards the door, trying to open it, only to find it locked. «Shit...»

Looking around himself, he figured that the easiest way were to dodge the first attack, hoping that the Fable would break the door and let him get in, making a run for it. The Fable got ready, slithering around Valeria a little before launching at him. Gladion managed to get away, timing it as the door got taken down instead, making the glass door cut the massive creature as it pulled back, hissing lighty in pain from the cuts. Gladion got inside and ran for it, only for Valeria to jump in and yell for her family to stop him, as her Fable needed to eat. Her parents looked out of the door as Gladion quickly passed.

«Thanks for the dinner!» he said while passing them.

They just exchanged looks, looking dumbfounded as they heard Valeria shout at them to stop him. They called for their Fae’s, which were of the Kitsune breed, running after him and slowly catching up on him. Looking over his shoulder, seeing that the two were closing up on him, he quickly grabbed a door handle, and swung the door open in a hurry, and slammed it in the face of one of the Fae’s, making them hit the door quite hard and fall back down on their rear, holding their nose in pain while whining. The other stopped, making sure that it’s fellow Fae were okay while Gladion continued to hurry towards the front door. The second Kitsune then ran after him after Valeria’s father screamed at it to let the other be and continue to chase him. Closing up at the front door, the second Fae were closing in on him as well, which made him panicked. With some quick thinking, he stopped, his side facing the fast approaching Fae. Keeping the Fae in his sight, and as it jumped at him, he quickly grabbed the door handle and swung it open, letting the second Fae get hit with a door. Landing on it’s back, holding its nose while whining in pain, Gladion gave a soft, sheepish chuckle and continued to the front door. Luckily he didn’t take off his jacket, and still had his keys on him, so he didn’t lose them. Running out of the mansion, he slowed down, only to look up and seeing the Fable in the air above him.

«Are you kidding me…?» he growled and got on running again. The Fable were on his heels, and he were quite sure that he wouldn’t survive. A feathered serpent, or a so called Quetzalcoatl, were a Mythical Fable, and shouldn’t even be real in the first place.

The Mythical were flying quite high in the air, and were growling quite loudly. Luna were at the other end of the city, and could see the serpent in the air, as well as hearing it quite clear as day. While looking, she got a feeling that something were wrong, and that Gladion were in that mess one way or another. Looking over at the Fable in the distance, she quickly got on her move to at least take a look. Doing some intense training for the last months, she had gotten quite better at controlling her own magic, and using them more efficiently. She had lost the three stripes on each of her cheeks, sporting a set of new markings on her face and body, and some fancy gradient coloration in her hair, tips of her ears, bangs and her tails, going from a black to a dark, crimson red, which made it look somewhat purple in certain lights. She jumped down on the roof tops, finding her way over to the Fable in a hurry, and the closer she got, the more worried she got for Gladion, already knowing that he were there, and were most likely in danger. Getting down to ground level, she continued in a hurry over to the commotion, passing people that were quite surprised to see her, but didn’t react to much, other than hearing some loud growling and roaring in the distance. Gladion had been running for a while, and were slowing down as Luna got there, seeing him pass her and not noticing that she were in the street to the side. Seeing his panicked expression were more than enough to stir up some feelings she had tried her best to bury and forget. She looked up in the air, seeing the massive Fable above them. Stepping out of the street, she looked in the different direction of where Gladion were running, seeing Valeria run after them, only to stop when she saw Luna, looking at her with a slight shock and panting heavily. Luna just scowled at her and ran after Gladion, deciding that she might as well help and get it over with, knowing that she would probably regret doing nothing if she left. Valeria just stood there, looking dumbfounded when Luna ran off in a hurry, accelerating greatly by using some of her magic for catching up with Gladion.

Gladion were slowing down, getting tired from running, as well as he wasn’t dressed for it. The serpent lowered itself, getting itself ready and were about to tackle him, only for Luna to get up front, tackling Gladion to the side before the serpent dug it’s jaw into the ground, giving off a massive growl. Gladion were taken completely off guard, almost sure that he were attacked as he groaned while slightly sitting up, only to see Luna on top of him. He stared at her, meeting her grey eyes, which felt like the longest seconds in his life and couldn’t really be happier to actually see her again, having a lot to say and apologize for.

«Luna...» he muttered.

«We’ll talk later.» she replied, looking over her shoulder.

She got off him and ordered him to stay out of the way, to which he just nodded at, followed by a soft hum in response. He got up on his feet, looking at her a little before looking up in the sky, seeing the serpent lingering in the air, looking quite confused as of why it’s ‘snack’ were gone all of a sudden. Luna stepped out, which made him look over at her, seeing the markings on her back, which he definitely didn’t remember on her before. The serpent chuckled when he saw her walk up front to him with confidence.

«You think a mere Kitsune can do anything? What a fool you must be.» he chuckled.

«Maybe so...But i have my reasons.» she replied flatly, giving it a glare.

Gladion leaned against the wall to the nearby building, doing his best to catch his breath while looking over at her, exchanging glances between her and the serpent. The two fables were having some kind of conversation, despite it being silent, it were still saying a lot, by just giving each other a glare. The serpent then started to laugh, telling her to get lost as he were just around to get some snack, and would be gone after that, to which Luna refused to let it.

«Snack or not...I won’t allow it. After all...A Quetzalcoatl don’t eat humans.» she said, her voice quite serious while giving him a glare, narrowing her eyes.

«None of your business, fox...and i don’t know how you know what i am from just a glance...and i frankly don’t care!» he said, snarling the latter as he launched at her. Luna just stood her ground, letting it get closer to her.


	35. Mythical Fable

As the Mythical got close to her, she dodged, only to get it’s tail swung at her, hitting her hard. The hit sent her flying down the street, hitting the ground hard while slightly roll down the street. She quickly got up on her feet, managing to dodge its tail again, hearing it snarl and growl at her to keep still, while charging up an attack. Looking up at the massive Fable, seeing that it was charging a rather powerful attack. She took a stance, charged up an attack of her own, already knowing that it wouldn’t be strong enough to do anything, much less, hit the Mythical Fable. Gladion had gotten up on his feet, still panting quite heavily while looking at what was going on. Hearing footsteps approaching fast, he looked over in that direction, seeing Valeria run up, yelling something at the Mythical. Gladion just frowned at her before looking over at the scene in front of them. The serpent charged and shot the attack at her, and Luna sent her attack, which were just deflected like a fly, forcing her to hurry over to the side for not getting hit. In the distance, Hikari were watching with interest, knowing that Luna had been doing some self training, and getting a better hold of her magic, though, she could see that Luna were slightly afraid to get to the next level, being unsure what will happen.

«Dear Yami...If you don’t start going full out, this battle is going to be your doom.» she muttered to herself. «Only a Mythical can defeat a Mythical...and you should know that, darling.» Hikari decided to get closer, just to have a better view as she jumped off the post she were sitting on, taking her time to walk over to the scene.

Luna were dodging the coming attacks that were fired at her, and already knew she were doomed, but she couldn’t back off now. Valeria kept standing there, looking up at the Fable, it being quite busy fiering attacks at Luna. Gladion were just looking around, but already knew that he couldn’t do anything else than to just stand there and watch, which were quite horrifying to know in itself, feeling useless. Luna were getting tired rather fast, not being used to her newly formed magic, much less, even used it properly in a battle situation. The serpent kept snarling loudly whenever it attacked, fiering different magic attacks, as well as swinging its tail at her, hitting her hard several times. As it hit her, it kept its tail on her, pinning her down to the ground as he leaned down to her, chuckling mischievously. Hikari had placed her beside Gladion, watching intently on what she would do. Gladion were to busy to watch what was going on that he didn’t notice the other Fable beside him, standing there with a serious expression and her arms crossed.

The serpent kept on chuckling at her, gritting its teeth at her. «Foolish creature...» he said, humored by himself. Luna scoffed lightly, panting heavily while feeling the weight of its tail getting heavy on her. «...I’ll show you how a Mythical ends a battle.» it added.

With a swift movement with its tail, it slid her across the ground, scraping her back up badly before throwing her across the street. Gladion were horrified at the sight, seeing her slowly get up and her back being quite bloody. He were about to run over to her, but got stopped by Hikari, who tightly grabbed the sleeve on his arm, which surprised him, looking at the Fable beside him in surprise and confusion.

«Who are you?» he asked, muttering it.

«None of your concern as for now...but you’ll inconvenience her if you put yourself in more danger than what you already are in.» she said in a stern and serious tone. «And i’m sure you don’t want that.»

Luna got up on her feet, taking a deep breath as she looked up at the Mythical, giving a light growl, which made it laugh rather harshly at her. She stood up, and launched at it. Using some magic to boost her jump, she jumped up, getting somewhat to its level. In the air, all of her nine tails showed up, her pupils got slitted and started to emit a slight glow. She charged up an attack, forming a light bluish orb between her hands, fiering it at the serpent. It laughed, only to get hit pretty hard by it, sending it back and hitting the ground creating a crater under it. The serpent got quite surprised, that small Fable were able to give out an attack like that, which just made it gradually start to laugh as it got back up, keeping itself on the ground. Luna got back on ground, all of her tails visible behind her. Gladion were looking at her with big eyes, as he had never seen her with all of her tails visible when she was in her humanoid form and it looked like she were wearing them like ornaments, having them carefully above the ground and surrounding her. Hikari kept holding Gladion’s sleeve tightly, making sure that he didn’t suddenly run off and do something stupid. She were watching intently at what Luna were doing when she charged at the serpent again, slowly managing to get in some attacks and getting more confident in her own abilities, which was still very scary for her, not really sure what would happen if she went overboard.

The battle kept on going. The serpent were literally spamming her with several attacks and swinging its tail at her, giving her no time to get around to counter it, which did take a great toll on her, tiering her out. It came to a point where she didn’t have any energy left to dodge, and just took the hits, getting thrown everywhere. Valeria were still around and kept watching the scene, but eventually shouted to the serpent and pointed at Gladion, which made both him and Hikari look over at the girl with big eyes. Hikari took the hint and pulled Gladion back, slightly behind her. She knew that he meant a lot to Luna, and she would most likely kill her if she didn’t do something to protect him, one way or another. Hikari just pointed over at Valeria, waving her index finger while shaking her head, narrowing her eyes at her. Valeria didn’t care and kept pointing at them, shouting orders.

«She can’t move anymore, and he’s right there! Do something about it, Basil!» she shouted at it. It turned towards her and nodded, directing its attention to Gladion and Hikari, who were pretty much in front of him at that point.

Hikari pointed up at the serpent and shaked her head. «Don’t even think about it.» she hissed lightly.

It laughed. «And what can you do? You are not even here, fox.»

«Just because i’m not fully here doesn't mean i can’t do anything.» she replied and cast a protective barrier around herself and Gladion.

Seeing that the serpent were charging up an attack again, Hikari were quite worried, as her magic couldn’t do much. Luna got up on her feet and didn’t think twice before she charged, a couple of striped appearing on her tails as she punched the serpent with all she had, the massive Fable getting punched to the ground, canceling the attack it was charging up. Hikari and Gladion were covering their eyes as the dust surrounded the area. Seeing Luna standing there, with confidence, Hikari gasped and surprise and couldn’t help herself to clap in excitement and jump on her spot.

«Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!» she exclaimed while clapping and jumping.

Gladion coughed a little before looking at her. «What is it now?» he muttered, looking at her.

«She got a new tail!» she exclaimed and pointed over at Luna.

The serpent had slithered off a little, getting some distance from her as the dust were slowly subsiding around them, revealing them both, as well as her new tail. Hikari counted them and gasped louder in excitement. Gladion didn’t get the excitement about it, thinking that she had gone mad.

«Oh my gosh! I can’t believe she turned into a Mythical right before my eyes!» she exclaimed, and flailed, clapping and jumping on her spot. Valeria heard it and got rather pale as she looked over at Luna’s direction, seeing her stand there, ready to attack at any second.

«I won’t let you...» Luna snarled at the serpent.

«Silly fox...I’ll show you what happens when someone messes with me!!» it snarled back at her.

It started to charge a powerful magic attack, and Luna started doing the same, standing her ground, her tails surrounding her while. On each tip of the tail that were visible, a light blue orb formed, starting to swirl around as it formed a new orb in front of her hands, getting brighter as she kept on charging it up, making sure that it would be able to be close to a KO for the serpent in front of her. As it fired the reddish glowing orb at her, Luna did the same. She fired, the now, massive blue orb in front of her at it, barely bypassing the attack of the serpent, hitting it as hard as it could, getting it paralyzed as it hit the ground with a massive thud, creating another wave of dust surrounding the area. Valeria screamed it’s name and ran over to it when the dust started to dispatch again, revealing a humanoid form of it, it slowly getting up on its feet while looking over at her. Valeria ran up, tears in her eyes as she glomped him, burying her face in his chest.

«Oh my god...i thought you were dying right now...» she sobbed.

Hikari were still flailing and didn’t know how or when to stop, being overly excited that her ‘sister’ were now a Mythical. Gladion just watched her in disbelief before directing his attention over to the commotion in front of him, seeing Luna slowly appear from the dust, and managed to count how many tails she had.

«10 tails…?» he muttered.

Hikari scoffed at him. «Ugh...You humans don’t know anything!» she exclaimed at him in slight disgust. «She transcended and is now a Mythical...oh my gosh, i’m so excited!» she interrupted herself, clapping her hands. «Never thought that she would be able to do it...Guess i was wrong and that my dear sister Kage were right then.» she muttered.

«What…?» Gladion muttered silently to himself.

Valeria kept holding around the Fable tightly, them both looking over at Luna. The male Fable gave her a nod. «Seems like i lost fair and square...M’lady.» he said softly, bowing to her.

Valeria didn’t understand anything, much less why he bowed to her. «Basil...why are you bowing to her.» she asked, wiping the tears out of her eyes.

«Because i got beaten by royalty.» he muttered and looked down at her. He placed his hand on her cheek, gently rubbing his thumb on her cheek. «I’m sorry love. I lost.»

Valeria shaked her head. «I don’t care...after that attack of hers i thought you were doomed...» she sobbed.

«Yeah...» he muttered and looked over at Luna again. He gave another nod at her and turned, walking off with Valeria still tightly clinging to him.

Luna sighed and looked around the place, which were still pretty much intact, thanks to the massive aura that the other Fable were emitting, making it almost like a barrier for not destroying anything. She turned towards Gladion, meeting his eyes. Gladion swallowed thickly when she started to approach him, only to stop right in front of him, crossing her arms, and tapping her foot, giving him a knowingly look.

«Not sure if i should tell you but...» she started, looking rather annoyed at him.

«Just get it over with...» he groaned, knowing what she would be telling him.

She cleared her throat. «I told you so!»

Gladion just hummed softly and nodded, feeling really embarrassed. Hikari snorted, which just made the two just give her a glare. She held her hands up in defeat and slowly backed off into the shadows, disappearing from their sight. Gladion groaned lightly, shaking his head and scratched the back of his neck, not sure what to tell her.

«I’m sorry...» he muttered, swallowing the little pride he had left, fully knowing that he had messed up.

«I’m not sure that would hold up.» she replied, rather harshly.

He nodded. «Yeah...That i’m aware off.»

Luna sighed and slightly rolled her eyes, taking a few more steps towards him, and started to lightly punch him on his chest. «You idiot! I hate you so much!»

Gladion didn’t know how what to do, other than to just let her bash him lightly. Her hits became lighter for every punch she gave him, and eventually grabbed his collar, pulling him down to her, making their eyes meet. «I hate you.» she muttered before leaning onto him, placing her forehead onto his chest while clenching tightly his jacket tightly, doing her best to hold back the tears that were starting to form in her eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly and placed his head on top of hers. «I hate me too...»

«Ow...» she muttered as he wrapped his arms around her, completely forgetting that she were quite scraped up on her back.

He quickly unwrapped his arms from her, muttering that he were sorry again. Luna let go of his jacket, and were quite sulky looking as her ears were laying down on her head. Her tails were still very much visible, gracefully placed behind her and gently moving, it was also then he looked down at her, getting a good look at her face, seeing the new markings on her. Instead of the dark ones, they were of a different purple like color, and it was quite fitting for her while studying them closely. He looked around a little, seeing that a few people were passing by after the ordeal, and looking rather weird at them, which made him utterly uncomfortable. It did seemed like people weren’t bothered by what had recently been going on, but then again, nothing were badly damaged, so it might be that they just didn’t see it as anything big as what actually happened.

«Let’s get home...» she muttered.

It took him off guard, but he nodded and hummed softly. «Yeah...Let’s get going.» he replied softly.

Since it was winter, and seeing that she were quite hurt from the battle, he took of his jacket while watching her take a few steps away from him, turning her, very scraped up, back towards him. Getting his jacket off, he put it over her shoulder, which made her lightly flinch and look over her shoulder at him. He had a faint blush on his cheeks.

«Can’t have you sick...» he muttered.

Luna just narrowed her eyes at him. «I guess.» she muttered, followed by a soft chuckle.


	36. Aftermath

Walking off and heading towards the complex, Luna focused herself to hide most of her tails, letting only one be visible while walking off. As she did, the gradient on her hair, ears and tail disappeared, as well as the markings on her back and tail vanished. The new ones on her face were still visible, as that was something she couldn’t control at the time being. Gladion were still slightly out of breath, but luckily it was the holiday vacation now, so he had time to ‘recover’. He knew at least that Valeria were out of his life. He looked over at Luna, who were walking beside him in silence, minding her own business. He let out a silent sigh, not sure how he can even apologize for being the idiot he was for not listening to her in the first place. The walk over to the complex were rather awkward, and he were planning what to say when they got into the apartment, and hopefully it all went as he had scripted it in his mind. Walking into the complex, and taking the elevator up made it even more awkward, as the silence from her made him nervous, thinking that she were going to lash out one way or another, and possibly just tell him that she’s leaving for good, and overall done being around him. Getting to their floor, and over to the apartment, Gladion unlocked the door and let her walk in first. Both walking in, Gladion closed and locked the door before Luna handed him the jacket.

«Thank you.» she said softly.

«Don’t...mention it.» he muttered and took it off her hands. «I should get you patched up...» he added, walking off to find the first aid kit.

«As per usual.» she muttered in a sarcastic tone to him.

He scoffed and put his jacket on a chair, loosening the tie a little before searching for the kit. It had been a while since it was used, so he wasn’t to sure where it was anymore, if it even was in the apartment. Luna kept watching him as he were searching for it.

She sighed softly and shaked her head slightly. «Top cabinet, to the right.» she muttered, rolling her eyes slightly.

He just slowly looked over at her. «I knew that...» he muttered, going over to the cabinet and found it rather quickly. He silently growled to himself as he took it down, closed the cabinet and walked over to her.

He gestured for her to sit down, which she did, taking a chair, her back facing him, moving her hair away. He took a different chair and sat down behind her, hesitating while looking at her damaged back. He sighed softly and just got to work, rolling up the sleeves before he started to clean the wounds that were the worst looking. She slightly loosened the bandage she had to keep her bust from moving everywhere, which made Gladion get beet red, knowing that she were, literally, half naked in front of him. She flinched a couple of times, as it stung slightly when he were cleaning it, but once done, and patched up, Gladion quickly packed it up and moved away, hiding the fact that he were as red as he could be. Luna didn’t need to look, as she knew he were uncomfortable since he moved away rather quickly. She got up from the chair, keeping her arms over her bust as she looked over her shoulder, trying to see the work he had done.

«Thank you...Though it’ll probably be a while until i sleep on my back...» she muttered.

«Most likely.» he replied, putting the first aid kit away again, and in a cabinet that he would remember he put it in. She shrugged and redid the bandages around her bust. While she were doing that, he came to remember that this other female fox from earlier said something that caught his attention. «Who was that fox from earlier?» he asked, looking over at her.

«Hikari.» she flatly replied.

«And how do you know her?»

«Her sister raised me.» She said and finished tying her bust up. «Why asking?» she asked, turning and looking over at him.

«She said something about you...transcending?» he said, looking rather unsure over at her.

Luna sighed softly. «In easy ‘human’ terms...it means i leveled up or...evolved...Sorta.» she said, not really sure how it worked either.

«You became a Mythical, in other words. How is that even possible?» he asked, approaching her.

«I don’t know...» she muttered. «It was something i didn’t aim at.» she added.

Gladion just hummed softly, nodding. «What are you?» he asked, knowing that he had asked it before, but were even more curious now, knowing that she  _ ‘evolved’ _ .

«Human born Fable.» she flatly replied, looking away from him, being slightly embarrassed by it.

Gladion just looked at her with big eyes. «What…?»

«It’s as it is. I’m a fable...born from humans...Though i don’t know where i’m really from...» she replied, followed by a soft sigh.

Luna walked over to the couch, and sat down, not really wanting to talk about it, but Gladion walked over to her, not saying anything, but were rather curious looking. She sighed softly again and just gave him whatever she knew about it, which wasn’t much. Gladion listened with interest, but understood just as much as what she did.

«Right...Not much to get out of that.» he muttered.

«Yeah...Sorry about that.» she said, followed by a soft, sheepish chuckle.

Not much were told about it, other than he got to know that she were raised in Kanto, originally, but were mostly in Kalos for years. While she were talking about her being in Kalos, she kept him in her sight from the corner on her eyes, seeing if he could remember anything from when he were young and were on a vacation in Kalos. He did remember something, but it was a long time ago, so he couldn’t recall much about it, other than several tails on a small girl he saw in the reflection of a window. He didn’t say anything about it, and didn’t remember telling her about it once either, which was something she kept in her mind, finding it quite hilarious that he were drunk that time.

He squatted down, resting his arms on the back of the couch and placing his chin on top, looking at her. «I’m sorry i was an idiot...» he muttered.

She moved closer to him, their foreheads touching. «I might get over it...But now...I wanna sleep and be comfortable.» she said and moved away. «You have no idea how cold it has been...»

Fighting the blush on his face, he just scoffed. «I can only imagine...» he muttered, not wanting to pour more salt into the wound.

She moved off the couch first, and headed into the bedroom while Gladion just watched her walk off, getting up on his feet again. With a sigh he started to undo the buttons on the waist coat. He walked over to the bathroom, getting out of the suit and into the PJ pants before turning on the water, splashing some water on his face, making sure that he wasn’t dreaming or anything of the sort. He was glad that she were back, but that made it only more awkward for him, at least now that he knew why he were missing her and felt like something were missing in his life when she wasn’t around. With a sigh, he walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, finding her on the side she would usually sleep on. As she had said, that it would be hard to sleep on her back, she had placed herself on her side, leaning more to her front and were looking quite comfortable. Slowly and silently closing the door, he walked over to his designated side and sat down on the edge of the bed.

_ This is even more awkward than i thought… _

He looked over his shoulder a little before just trying his best to ignore the awkwardness of the situation. He had been sleeping quite bad the time she wasn’t around, and thought it would be better when she were around again, only to get the opposite of the coin.

«I’m not going to bite, Gladion.» she said.

He slightly flinched and got under the duvet, trying to get comfortable in a hurry. «I know that already...» he muttered, slightly hissing it.

«..Unless...You want me to?» she added, followed by a soft chuckle.

«Do i dare to find out?» he replied, only to facepalm, making a loud smacking noise..

_ What the fuck did i just say… _

Luna chuckled more. «Who knows~.» she murmured softly. Gladion just scoffed at her.

Hearing her chuckle like ‘old times’ made him relax like nothing as he turned to his side, letting out a content sigh. Thinking that it would be hard to fall asleep, he drifted off rather quickly. Once he were sleeping, Luna sat up in the bed, looking over at him a little before she turned her attention to the windows, looking outside at the dark sky. She let out a soft sigh, which were rather sad sounding as she moved her hair to her front, lightly braiding it to keep it out of the way while her back were healing up. Looking out, she knew it was just a matter of time before she would start to crystalize, knowing that she were now a Mythical, and that species of Fable’s didn’t have the longest lifespan, not according to nature at least. It was quite a scary thought, already knowing that she would at some point vanish. The most scary thing about it was that it would just start, and there was nothing that could stop it, not that she knew of at least.

_ Is it because i’m a human born fable...that this happened to me…? _

She knew it had to do something with the fact that she was a human born, but didn’t know anything else of it, as well as she didn’t aim to become a Mythical. An accomplishment she didn’t aim for, which she knew were dangerous and could happen to any Fable or Fae, wanting it or not. She puffed her cheeks, being slightly annoyed and feeling rather dumb for letting it happen to herself, but it was something she couldn’t control. Sitting there, she heard something coming from the living room, perking her ears up in that direction. Being on alert, she got up from the bed and silently walked out, closing the door silently behind her. Going to the living room, she saw that the fridge door were open, and a couple of white tails sticking up from the counter.

«Hikari...» she hissed.

Hikari jolted up, hitting her head on the shelf on the fridge door, muttering softly in pain as he looked over at Luna. «Yami...» she said, sounding cheerfully, despite it being quite muffled out by being in pain.

She closed the door, while munching on something as she walked around the kitchen counter, walking up to Luna. «What do you want?» Luna asked.

«Nothing, and i’m i not allowed to see my newly-made Mythical sibling?» she said, giving her a sweet smile.

«I’m asking because you usually are around to only tease me or ask for a favor.» she replied flatly.

«Pfft...You really think that little of me?» Hikari asked, giving her a  _ look _ . Luna just looked at her knowingly. «Fine...You got me. But this time i’m just around to make sure you are fine. You got a pretty badly damaged back, no?»

«I’m patched up, thank you.» she replied dryly.

«Oh? The human patched you up? I’m impressed you got yourself a human slave already. I like the way you are thinking~.» she said, humoring herself as she chuckled softly.

Luna just rolled her eyes at her. «He’s no slave.» she hissed.

«Oh dear Yami. He might as well be one...» she said, followed by a soft giggle.

«And my name is Luna...not Yami. Get it right already...» Luna sighed, shaking her head.

«Sticking with your human name...Whatever, i’ll just keep on calling you Yami, as that’s what i’m used to. I don’t care if you don’t like it.» Hikari replied, rolling her eyes slightly.

«I stick with it because it’s the only thing i actually remember my human mother calling me.» Luna hissed, being quite defencive about it.

«Yes...Yes, i know. Kage said the same at some point.» Hikari replied and waved her hand at her. «Anyway...I just really wanted to see if you were patched up, which you are. And to make sure that you ain’t dying from it...I’ll be off to Kanto again shortly...My sister’s grave is needing of some maintenance.» she added, shrugging.

«You haven’t kept it clean and such? And you call yourself a Kyuubi...» Luna sighed, shaking her head.

Hikari scoffed and hissed at her to be silent. It was a massive shrine after all, and at this time of the year, there was a massive load of snow around, so it would be hard to keep it up and fixed. Luna dismissed it, waving her hand at her, not believing that she didn’t keep the place clean and up to date, knowing it was a shrine dedicated to her older sister, Luna’s adoptive mother. They shared a few more words before Hikari disappeared and Luna got back to the bedroom, getting under the duvet and getting as comfortable as possible, trying to get drift off to sleep while watching out of the windows, up at the dark night sky.


	37. Christmas Day

A day passed, and Christmas were approaching quickly, being two days ahead. Gladion had no plans on decoration, but Luna managed to persuade him to at least get something, so she dragged him along to whatever of stores that sold Christmas stuff. She were quite excited about it, and ordered him to grab whatever that she couldn’t reach, and didn’t want to use her magic to just get something down, unless Gladion refused to get it down to her, so she could take a look. It being her second Christmas she were going to celebrate, she definitely wanted to go all out while she could, she couldn’t even stop smiling from just generally looking around at all the different decorations. Gladion wasn’t too happy to be dragged along, but were there anyway, just tagging along and seeing her be happy. Christmas had always been a horror story for him, which was why he didn’t like it, and didn’t really celebrate it, other than the previous year, when he decided to play a trick on Luna while she were in her feral form. Which only backfired when she used magic to make him match her reindeer costume at the time.

Walking around the shopping district, she had picked out a few simple things, which was a blessing in disguise for him, already knowing that he would be the one getting everything up, with Luna ordering him around. They were more or less done, but she wanted to at least take a last look, making sure that there wasn’t anything else that caught her interest, which there was. A small Christmas tree, which she knew she could do something about.

«Gladion~.» she lighty whined at him.

Gladion just sighed. «What?» he hissed, turning towards her. Luna just pointed at the small tree, which was fake, but she didn’t care. «Are you serious?» he muttered, shaking his head.

«Come on!» she whined, giving him a fake pout. «It’s fake even, so there wouldn’t be anything to vacuum up.»

He sighed, followed by a soft groan. «Fine...»

She clapped in excitement. «Yay~!» she cheered softly, followed by a soft giggle.

Getting the tiny tree, she figured that they were done and just wanted to get home again. Gladion holding most of the bags, while she had a few, and were holding the fake tree. It was at times like these that he were slightly regretting having her around, but couldn't do anything about it, as he fully knew he needed her around. Getting out of the shopping district, they passed a few classmates, which were busy with their own things, and didn’t pay them any attention while being busy with their own things. Gladion glanced over at Luna a few times on their way over to the complex, and seeing her smile made his heart flutter lightly, and couldn’t really look away from her until she looked over at him, giving him a sweet, content smile. He just gave her a soft smile back when she did, trying his best to shake the feeling off. They got to the complex, and after some tacky and cheesy elevator music, they were at their floor and headed over to the apartment door. They quickly got in, got out of their winter clothes and got too work of making the place more  _ ‘Christmas Friendly’ _ . At least that’s how Luna put it. It didn’t take long for the decorations to come up, but Gladion were still curious on the small Christmas tree that she made him buy.

«And what about this tree?» he asked, slightly hissing it.

«Give it to me!» she demanded, and took it out of his hands. «I’m sure you’ll just throw it away if i didn’t take if off your hands just now...» she added, giving him a small pout as she passed him.

«Close to.» he replied, crossed his arms and just watched her place it in a corner, making sure the stuff around it were a good distance away from it. «Now...what are you going to do with it?» he asked again.

«Wait and see.» she replied, put in the corner and took a few steps away from it. She snapped her fingers, and the fake tree slowly started to grow, getting bigger. Gladion were watching with big eyed as his jaw dropped. Luna giggled softly. «Knowing that you probably won’t get a real tree in here, i went and made you get this one.» she said and turned around, seeing him with his jaw open. Luna laughed softly and walked over to him, closing the jaw of his. «I know...It’s jaw dropping.» she said, followed by a soft chuckle.

She passed him and got over to the kitchen, starting to make some hot cocoa, as she started to crave it. Gladion just watched her walk off, starting on something in the kitchen. «How…?» he just muttered, shaking his head slightly.

Luna just looked at him with an unamused expression. «Gladion...Please.» she said and wiggled her fingers in front of her. «Magic. I’m a Fable after all...»

«Correction...You’re a  _ Mythical _ now.» he pointed at her and corrected her.

She just waved her hand at him. «Whatever...Almost the same thing.»

She made some hot cocoa and gave him a cup, thanking him for actually not being grumpy while shopping for the decorations with her. Gladion just hummed softly, nodding. He didn’t want to give her any hints on that he actually were quite unpleased with tagging along with her. Luna already knew he wasn’t pleased with it, but didn’t bring it up, as she managed to drag him along and get her way at something, which was an achievement in itself for her when it came to Gladion. The rest of the day and evening ended with them just watching shitty TV shows and movies, and occasionally exchanging a few words, feeling like she had never been away at all.

**\----------**

Christmas day arrived, and Gladion woke up first that morning, sitting up while giving off a soft groan, running his hand over his face and through his bangs. Sitting there, blinking a couple of times and generally just waking up, he took a quick glance to his side, seeing Luna still fast asleep. He scooted closer, and slightly leaned down over her, gently removing some of her hair strands that were out of place on her face, gently tracing the new markings on her cheek and around her one eye. While studying her sleeping face, he leaned down and gently placed his lips on her, still being in quite the haze from recently waking up. He kept the kiss for a few seconds before breaking it, looking down at her. He shot up in a hurry, getting beet red while looking at her in horror. Looking around the room a little, he looked down at her again, seeing that her ear gave a light twitch. He hurried out of bed, sitting on the edge a little while starting to panic.

_ Fuck...what the hell did i just do...!? _

He inhaled deeply a couple of times, massaging his temples while trying to calm himself down. He looked over his shoulder, seeing that she were still very much asleep, and sighed softly. He got up, got dressed and walked out as silently as possible. As the door got shut, he growled and groaned to himself rather loudly. Luna opened her eyes and sat up in the bed, looking at the door, as she were awake when he placed his lips on hers. She looked at the door, a deep red carnation on her cheeks as she gently ran her fingers across her lips, being in a slight haze from what had just happened. Gladion stood at the kitchen, his hands firmly planted on the counter while looking quite panicked, muttering to himself that he was an idiot.

«Gladion...She’s a Fable and that won’t work...» he muttered to himself, only to facepalm. «What the hell am i even saying!?» he groaned softly.

He hung his head, muttering to himself that he had to calm down, that she was asleep and if she noticed anything, it was just a dream or just her imagination that were playing a trick on her. He nodded to himself, agreeing that that would be the thing he would say if she mentioned anything. He got over to the fridge and found something easy and quick to eat, munching it down before he moved over to the dinner table, sitting down before he started to panic more, placing his face in his hands while being as embarrassed as he could get. Luna were sitting in the bed for an hour more, just generally calming down herself from the massive blush she had gotten. She hesitated while getting out of bed, getting herself dressed and heading out of the bedroom. She inhaled deeply, letting it out with a soft sigh as she straightened herself up and opened the door, walking out, deciding to pretend like nothing. As she opened the door, Gladion flinched and looked up at her with big eyes as she walked out. Their eyes met for a brief second as she continued to approach him, passing him while both had a blush on their faces.

«Good morning.» she muttered softly as she walked by him.

«Morning...» he muttered back.

The morning started with an awkward energy, which luckily lifted when Lillie called him later that day, wishing them a Merry Christmas and asked if the gifts that were sent had arrived. Gladion confirmed that they had arrived, and were in the apartment, in a corner for later. Luna had placed them under the tree, as she had seen on the different TV shows and wanted to follow suit with that, getting restless and excited. Lillie were just as excited, as she had gotten a few things for Luna that she thought that she would need, as well as for Gladion, but it was harder to shop for him, as he never said anything of what he actually wanted, other than the usual  _ peace and silence _ like any other day.

Lillie groaned. «Ugh...Why isn’t there literally  _ anything _ you want…?»

«Isn’t that just for the better? Nothing to get me then.» he replied with a sigh.

«But that’s not fun, brother!! Gosh...» she lightly hissed. She looked around behind him and saw a few Christmas decoration. «Wait...Have you decorated the place?» she asked, clearly surprised.

«Yeah...» he muttered.

Lillie snorted and giggled softly. «Luna forced you to get stuff?»

«Yup...» he replied, nodding as he looked around a little. As much as he talked about how he didn’t like it, it wasn’t to bad. In fact, it made him feel more welcome in a way that he couldn’t explain, despite the mansion in Alola being overly decorated every year.

Lillie giggled. «And what about your girlfriend? She coming over or something?»

«No.» he flatly replied, frowning by the thought of Valeria. «It’s over. Literally.»

«Oh no...why? If i may ask…?» she asked him, looking somewhat upset at him.

«Well...» he started, taking a deep breath. «Not really anything to keep when she fished me in just to throw me as food for her Fable.» he added, hissing it. «So yeah...That’s over and will not happen again anytime soon.»

Lillie just looked at him with shock, but there had been news about it all over the world. «Ooh...But that was on the news as well, right? Two Mythicals fighting. Was that one a Mythical then?»

«Apparently so.» he flatly replied with a sigh.

«Okay...But where did the other Mythical go? And even come from? The clips that were used in the TV report were just...terrible.» she said, lightly hissing it.

«She’s around.» he replied, and looked over at Luna, who were busy watching a Christmas movie on the TV, watching it intently.

«She? Was that Luna?!» Lillie exclaimed loudly, to the point that Luna heard it and looked over at him, sitting there shaking his head in disbelief.

«You didn’t need to shout it, Lillie...» he muttered, slightly hissing it.

«Oh my gosh! It was!?!» she exclaimed loudly again.

Gladion just groaned, and Luna giggled softly before she went back to watch the movie, being wrapped up in a blanket and feeling quite cozy. Gladion and Lillie kept on talking a little more before wishing each other a Merry Christmas and hung up. Gladion sighed and sat back in the chair, groaning lightly while running his hands over his face. He sighed and took his phone, taking it with him and sat down beside Luna on the couch, asking if anything interesting had happened in the movie.

«Nha, not as of yet...Not for me at least.» she replied, keeping her eyes on the screen.

Gladion nodded. «Lucky me...Didn’t miss anything.»

«Definitely didn’t.» she replied, followed by a soft chuckle.

There wasn’t much to do that day, other than to just sit around, watch movies or take a trip outside. Everything were closed as well, so if there was anything that either of them needed, they couldn’t get it. While sitting there, watching the movie, Luna scooted closer out of habit and leaned onto him, which made him tense up, remembering what he did earlier that morning. Luna kept it in mind, but she didn’t make a big deal out of it and just wanted to be comfortable. Gladion kept himself rather tense for a while, but loosened up when there was a few laughs in the movie, starting to relax and forget about the morning. As the day progressed, watching movies and just generally cuddling, which was something Luna had forced him into, though, he didn’t complain, feeling rather cozy himself.


	38. New Year, New life

After Christmas and the following days after were silent, which were something they both liked, but after he had been an idiot for months, not listening to her, he decided that they would get to the overlook over the city, being there when the fireworks were going to get shot up, so she could see it all, without being grumpy or anything of the sorts for staying inside. He didn’t tell her much, only that she should be ready to head out, and possibly ready to hide her tail and ears, which she nodded at, not sure why. As the hours passed, they got ready and left the complex, Luna just walking beside him, not sure where they were going. She were quite surprised when they got out of the city, only to start climbing some stairs. While climbing the stairs, Luna stopped and took a look behind her, seeing that the city were gaining distance behind them. Noticing that she had stopped, he stopped himself, looking down at her. 

«Tired?» he asked.

Luna looked up at him, giving him a sweet smile. «No, i’m fine. Just looking around.» she said and got up to his side.

He nodded and hummed softly. «Just...let me know if you need a break...or something.» he muttered as they started to climb the stairs again.

Luna gave a soft giggle. «I will, don’t worry about it.»

Continuing up, Gladion were starting to prepare his major apology speech, making sure that he actually meant it, which was a hard thing to do, as he were so used to just say it, without meaning it throughout the years in Alola. He did mean it when Luna appeared again a few days before Christmas, saving his sorry ass. He had been missing her, and feeling rather lonely, which was something he wasn’t used to, at least not to that extent. Glancing over at her a few times as they continued up the stairs and eventually got up to the overlook. Once Luna saw where they were heading, she lighted up, as well as Gladion told her to hide her ears and tail, as there would, most likely, be other people around, and Fae’s weren’t allowed around the place at the time. She quickly muttered a few words and hid them from the public view, though, the only thing she couldn’t hide were the markings on her face. Gladion noticed and just sighed.

Luna just gave a sheepish chuckle. «Sorry...»

«It’s fine...Hopefully people won’t notice.» he replied, shaking his head.

Getting up the last few stairs, they saw there was guards walking around, most likely making sure that no Fae’s were around. Luna got nervous when seeing them and were approaching them, to the point that she linked her arm with Gladion’s, hoping that would do the trick, and that they wouldn’t see the markings on her face. Luckily for her, there was children running around with face paints, so when she noticed that, she calmed down, letting out a soft sigh. Walking over, and seeing over the city were quite impressive. As long Luna had been wandering around the city, she haven’t been at the overlook, and didn’t really know it existed, so she were quite excited for being there, being able to see the fireworks coming from everywhere in the city. Gladion looked around a little, only or Luna to drag him along to the side, as she found a place that had a better view over the city, and were more secluded, as she knew he hated crowds. Getting over there, they had to get past some trees, which luckily no one noticed that they were walking off from the rest, since it was forbidden to do so, making sure that everyone were safe. Sneaking off, they got there, and the view were more impressive. Luna were looking out in awe, being impressed by how massive the city actually were, despite being mostly around the whole place. There were still some time before the lightshow were starting, so they decided to sit down on their jackets, despite it being quite cold, keeping the spot for themselves. While sitting there, Luna kept her eyes out on the city, studying it and Gladion were gathering courage to actually give her a heartfelt apology and a thanks for saving his sorry ass that time.

It were slowly getting darker, and while he were gathering courage to swallow his pride, Luna had noticed that he were quite silent, even more so than normal. She tilted her head and asked if he were okay, even feeling cold, considering that they had their jackets off. He just shaked his head, telling that he was fine, he just had a lot on his mind, which wasn’t entirely a lie either. Luna hummed softly and nodded as a reply, shifting her gaze out to the city again. Sitting close, it slowly got darker and colder, and the lightshow were to start pretty soon, as someone had announced that they would be starting soon, since the time for the new year to start were getting close. Luna clapped her hands in excitement, slightly wiggling her body, which ended up with her getting the chills. Gladion just chuckled softly at her when she got it, shivering slightly. Looking over at her again from the corner of his eyes, he swallowed thickly, trying to swallow down the little pride he had lingering left after everything. From just looking at her for a few minutes, he forgot what he were going to say, his mind going blank. As the crowd in the slight distance were getting loud and ready, starting to count down the last minutes to the new year, Gladion reached for her chin, moved her towards him as he leaned over, placing his lips on hers. As he turned her head towards him, she kept her eyes on the city, only to get surprised when feeling his lips on hers, but quickly melted into it. The fireworks started, which made them break the kiss, and look over at the city, only for Luna to smirk at him.

«If you wanted another kiss that badly, you could have asked~.» she murmured.

Gladion became beet red, turning around and were looking in the opposite direction of her. «I-i-i...I’m...I’m...S-s-sorry...» he stuttered.

Luna just forced him to look at her as she forcefully moved his head towards her, only to smash her lips onto his again. The kiss lasted for a few seconds before breaking it, their lips lingering close to each other as they gazed into each others eyes. He tilted her chin up slightly again and leaned in, placing his lips onto hers again. Sharing a few soft, tender kisses, forgetting where they were and just kept their focus on each other before it broke, looking at each other, Gladion looking slightly scared of what he had done, and what had just happened. Luna just gave him a soft smile, to which he smiled softly back at her. She gave a soft giggle and gently tackled him. Gladion got surprised by her suddenly tackling him to the ground, catching her in the process.

Luna kept a soft smile on her lips. «All  _ you _ want  _ for _ new years….is a  _ fox _ ~.» she said, changing the lyrics on the Christmas song that had been playing all around.

Gladion couldn’t help himself to blush even more, if that was even a thing, being as red as he already was. Having his arms around her, she just poked his cheek, which made him look up at her, meeting her grey eyes, that were reflecting the different colors from the fireworks, and her bangs that were gently framing her face. He reached up for her, gently cupping her cheek as a soft smile grew on his lips.

«Seems like i got what i wanted then.» he muttered softly.

Luna chuckled softly. «You have been to long around me now, since that’s something i would have said~.»

He lightly scoffed and pulled her down to him. «You’ll never know...» he murmured, smirking as he pulling her down to him, locking their lips gently.

After sharing a few more kisses, Luna got off him and Gladion sat back up, catching the few fireworks that were left, sitting close for the rest of the show. While sitting there, Luna reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers. It caught him a little off guard, but didn’t hesitate to follow suit. They watched it to the end, and once it was over, they got up, got their jackets on and started to leave the place and headed towards the stairs. Luna kept her tail and ears hidden so it wouldn’t be to embarrassing for him while keeping their fingers intertwined as they walked down the stairs, as it was considered taboo to be  _ that _ close, no matter what people said or did. Luna knew it was taboo for a human to get anywhere close to a romantic relationship between a human and a Fae or Fable, so she started already to get a little worried about it, and thinking that it was just a one time fling, because he needed it after what had recently happened.

«Gladion…This considered taboo though...» she muttered.

«That i’m well aware off.» he replied.

«Oh...Umm...» she muttered softly, trying to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind.

«Already worried for what people think?» he asked, looking at her.

«Well...It is taboo after all...and i don’t want to harm your or Aethers reputation...» she replied.

«Couldn’t care less.» he quickly replied, slightly hissing it without noticing that he did.

«Gladion...» she muttered softly.

«Aether have a bad reputation from before anyway...and i don’t really have the best reputation anyway, so there is nothing to find on me.» he added. Thinking through it a little, he cleared his throat. «Just...let’s keep it hidden...» he added.

«Of course...but still...» she said, looking down at the ground as they got down the stairs, starting to walk the streets.

Gladion did get were she was coming from, but didn’t care about it. If people figured it out, then let them know, at least after he finally realized what had been lingering for a year, but never done anything about it, much less gotten to know anyone the way he got to know her, which was very personal. As well as she were most of the time in his face, demanding answers if she didn’t like what she heard.

«You weird human...» she muttered, followed by a soft smile.

«Did you expect anything else from me?» he replied, giving her a smirk.

«I don’t really know what i expected.» she said, giving off a soft giggle. «It’s just...»

«Just what?» he asked, looking at her. She just gave him a slight glare, which he got right away. He lightly scoffed. «Heh...No is the answer to your question. I have just been an idiot and not realizing sooner...»

«Realizing what?» she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side while looking up at him.

Gladion swallowed thickly, not being used to confess or anything of the sorts. «Just...realizing that there is only one  _ fox _ for me...» he muttered, getting more red as he said it.

Luna snorted and laughed softly, which made him look at her and regret saying anything, growling to himself. Luna kept on laughing softly for a little, finding rather funny. Not what he said, but the way he said it were just hilarious to her, but the laughing eventually died down, changing into soft giggles as they got over to the complex, Gladion regretting being alive and were secretly wishing that he were eaten by the Mythical before Christmas. Getting into the complex, into the elevator and up to the apartment, they got the jackets off in a hurry, as well as the shoes. As she took off the shoes she were wearing, he just narrowed his eyes at her, not remembering when she started wearing shoes, as he could swear that she had paws on her feet. Luna noticed and giggled softly, telling him that she started with it after she became a Mythical herself, to which he just nodded at.

«Right...» he muttered softly. «Didn’t notice.» he added, locking the door.

«Well...It’s my feet. I didn’t expect you to notice either.» she replied to him, giving him a sweet smile.

Luna took his hands in hers and started to walk backwards, guiding him with her to the bedroom. It was late, but the look in her eyes told a different story, and Gladion could tell and couldn’t help but to smirk, letting her drag him with her while being fixated on her eyes and soft, mischievous smirk.

«Better be careful when there is a vixen around~.» she murmured.

«Should i be scared of that?» he replied, smirking.

Getting into the bedroom, closing the door behind them, Gladion forcefully pulled her towards him, holding her hands tightly as he pulled them slowly up above her head and leaning on, giving her a soft kiss.

«I’m sure you can’t  _ handle _ my tail~.» she murmured at him.

«Oh, i’m sure i’ll  _ handle _ that tail of yours~.» he murmured back at her, locking their lips.


	39. New Year Night

Gladion kept her hands in his as he leaned on, locking their lips. While keeping their lips locked on each other, he quickly moved around, making her stand against the door while he pressed his body up against her, taking her by surprise as she lightly gasped when he moved. Keeping her arms above her head, keeping their lips locked, he slipped his tongue in between her lips, gently caressing and wrestling with hers. Moving her hands closer together, keeping them above her head with one hand while he moved his other down to her hip, sliding it under the shirt she were wearing, tracing his hand tenderly up her sides, tracing her sides up while sliding the shirt with him. Breaking the kiss, he let go of her hands and stopped his hand at her waist, moving down to her thighs and groped her roughly, picking her up. Keeping himself pressed up close to her, she wrapped her legs around his waist, and her arms around his neck, smashing their lips onto each other again for a few seconds before he broke it, planting his lips on her neck. He gently ran his lips across her skin, nibbling and giving soft kisses down her neck, going down to her collarbone before he bit her, making her give off a light yelp. 

«That didn’t hurt.» he murmured, smirking at her.

«More of a surprise~.» she murmured back. He just gave a light chuckle at her, giving her a soft kiss on her neck. «Just hope that i don’t bite back now~.» she added.

«Please try.» he replied, placing a soft kiss on her collarbone, looking up at her with an intense and hungry look.

Keeping her pressed against the door, he placed his hands on her thighs and picked her up from the door, planning to move over to the bed. Getting her up and starting to move over. Not turning around, he started to back off towards the bed, only to lose balance when he got too close to the bed, making them both fall back onto it. They both yelped lightly as it happened. Luna got up, straddling him as she looked down at him, chuckling softly as Gladion let out a soft sigh. She poked him between his eyebrows, making him look up at her as she moved her hand over, pushing his bangs away from his face. He reached up and cupped her cheek, gently rubbing his thumb gently on her skin, making her lean into his hand a little before she leaned down to him, placing her forehead onto his.

«You really sure you can handle this  _ tail _ of mine?» she asked again.

«Wouldn’t have been here if i thought i couldn’t.» he replied, wrapping his arms around her, and rolled over, getting her to lay on her back, while he got on top of her.

Locking their lips hungrily, he moved his hand down to her hip, getting under her shirt again, gently running his hand up her side. Luna moved her hand to his waist, taking a firm grip on his shirt and start to pull it up. Breaking the kissing session, he quickly pulled her shirt off, followed by his own, that they both tossed to the side as they crashed their lips onto each other again, tongues roughly wrestling with each other and breaths getting heavy. Gladion moved her bra up, cupping one of her breasts, which made her lightly gasp, breaking the makeout. Gladion just continued by planting his lips on her neck, going down to her collarbone and down to her chest, lightly running the tip of his tongue across her skin as he moved down to the cleavage. He didn’t bother to try to unhook the bra, and just pulled it up above her head, which took her completely off guard. He muttered for her to keep her hands above her head, which she did while he went back to work on her, cupping her breasts gently while tracing his lips gently on her, kissing and lightly brushing his teeth on her skin as he moved down to her stomach and lower abdomen, stopping right above her pants. Soft, silent moans were coming from her, and it got harder for her to keep her tail and ears hidden, the sound of her heavy breathing finding its way to his ears. Undoing the button on her pants, but before pulling them down, he got up from her and grabbed her by her hips, and moved her around to her front before leaning over her again, pressing his growing crotch against her rear, giving her a soft kiss on her shoulder as he moved her hair away from her back.

Running his hand down her spine softly, stopping at her lower back, giving her a gentle push, knowing that her tail were right under the point. As he pushed that spot, a soft moan escaped from her and releasing the magic she had used to hide her tail and ears, making them visible again.

Gladion chuckled softly. «Seems like something from the books became useful.» he murmured.

Luna let out a soft huff. «Is that so...» she murmured softly.

He hummed softly and gave her a soft kiss on her shoulder again, sliding his hand down to her rear and under the pants and underwear, groping her rear roughly a little before just sliding them off completely. Keeping himself leaned over her, he slid his hand around her, finding his way to her womanhood, starting to rub gently. She let out a soft moan, arching her back slightly and wrapped her tail around him in reflex. He kept nibbling on her shoulder while he kept rubbing her lips, hearing her breathing get more ragged and heavy, as well as soft moans were escaping from her. Hearing her moans made him more excited, gently planting kisses on her shoulders and the back of her neck. Working her up for a while, hearing her moans get more frequent, he stopped, letting her get a slight breather while he got over to his nightstand, getting some protection, not wanting to take any chances or risks. Quite the embarrassment that he had them, but he got them just in case when Valeria were relevant. That never happened, since it just felt wrong whenever it got going for him, which made more sense that it didn’t work out between the two. Dragging down his own pants and boxers, revealing his much aroused member. Putting the rubber on, he leaned over her, hearing her heavy breath as he gave her another soft kiss on her shoulder before guiding himself into her, feeling her inner walls tightly wrap around him, making him let out a soft huff.

Luna’s ears lowered down on her head as she huffed softly and lowered her front as he started to slowly move into her. She kept her tail around him as he kept thrusting into her, placing one hand on her hip, keeping her on place while he kept going into her. While keeping his pace on her, her magic affected him in a way that had never been seen before or even managed to record before, being an extremely rare situation to be in. As she got some of the stripes reappeared on her back, Gladion were sporting a pair of fox ears and a tail himself. They both didn’t notice it, being busy with feelings and the pleasure that they felt. Luna were clutching tightly on the sheets, soft moans coming from in between her ragged and heavy breathing. As Gladion’s eyes slitted up, he quickened the pace, going rougher into her and grabbed her tail for keeping her there in place. He kept thrusting into her, but holding her tail wasn’t the best option, so he quickly let go of it, leaning over her as he sped up. Moans kept getting frequent from her, and her inner walls were tightly spasming around him, cutting it short on both sides when she arched her back. Her inner walls tightly wrapped around him as she tightly clenched the sheets as she reached the end of her run, her heavy breath cracking while feeling the intense feeling of pleasure. Gladion hunched over her, wrapping his arms around her as she gave of a soft, but loud moan, letting out a soft groan like moan as he reached the end of his run, his heavy breath cracking up from the intense feeling. He ended up putting his weight onto her, resting his chin on her shoulder while catching his breath ever so slightly before he gently nuzzled into her neck, giving her a soft kiss. As soon as it ended, the ears and tails he got disappeared quickly when her heavy breathing calmed down, and when she unwrapped the tail from around his waist and the extra stripes on her back slowly vanished from sight.

Having his arms wrapped around her, he moved his hands up to her bust, and gently cupped them, making her let out a soft gasp. «Ain’t you done…?» she asked between the heavy breathing of hers.

«No such thing as being  _ done _ .» he murmured softly to her.

She gave off a soft chuckle. «Is that so.» she murmured back. Gladion just hummed softly in response as he gave her another kiss on the base of her neck.

Laying as such for a few more seconds, he unwrapped his arms from her, and pulled out, removed the rubber and tied a knot on it before placing it on the floor. Luna stretched her back and while doing so, her tail fluffed up and hit him in his face. Caught by surprise, he pushed her tail out of his face, just looking down at her, while she looked over her shoulder, giving off a soft giggle. He just scoffed lightly and laid down beside her, grabbing her and pulled her to her side, and gave her a quick, tender kiss on her lips. She gave a soft giggle as he pulled her close, giving her a soft kiss. Their eyes met for a brief second before they locked their lips, making Gladion roll over and slightly laying on top of her, Luna placed her hands on his cheeks, keeping the soft kisses going on for a few more seconds. While having their lips locked, they got interrupted by some fireworks in the distance, which lighted up the room slightly with different colors. They quickly looked out of the windows, only for Gladion to bury his face in her shoulder, letting out a soft groan. Luna just gave a soft giggle.

«Thought that show were over...» he muttered.

«Probably something left, or just someone finishing up.» she replied, followed by a soft giggle.

«Hopefully so.» he lightly growled. Luna just gave him a light poke on his cheek, smiling sweetly at him.

He unwrapped his arms from her, and they both got under the duvet, feeling that the room were starting to get rather chilly, it being the winter season after all. Once under the duvet, Luna stretched herself again before scooting close to him, slotting herself in under his arm as she placed one of hers around him. He pressed his lips onto her forehead, giving her a soft peck, which made her look up at him and placed her hand on his cheek, lightly pulling him down to her, placing his on hers gently. Sharing a few tender kisses, she got comfortable, getting herself ready to sleep as it had been a long day and she were tired. She did make sure that her ears were out of his way before she drifted off. Gladion were lightly tracing circles on her arm, looking out of the windows and couldn't help himself to frown at the sight of more fireworks, hearing it go off like crazy in the distance. He lightly shaked his head, giving off a soft sigh as he gave her another light peck on her forehead, getting a little more comfortable as he decided to try his best to ignore the sounds in the distance. He looked up at the ceiling a little before he shifted his gaze down to Luna again, gently reaching for her cheek and lightly running his thumb softly over her skin, tracing the two markings on her cheek, and the one she had gotten under her eye. As many times he had seen her asleep, she were just captivating, even more so now when she were as close as possible to him, where he could carefully study her features without her fully noticing it.

It slightly got him thinking, and lowkey hoping that she were the supposed ‘Wild Card’ that they had learned about in class. A Fae, or a Fable that would be able to choose their life as either a human, or keep living as they already have. Getting his hopes up were unusual, but knowing his own luck, she were a mere Fable, or a Mythical, as she had recently turned into. He most likely wouldn’t bring it up to her, as she probably didn’t know if she were one or not. The thoughts slowly made his eyes feel heavy, despite the fireworks still going on in the distance, he slowly drifted off to sleep, keeping her as close as possible.


	40. Couch Play

New years eve and the night went by, as well as the days off from classes ended in a hurry when College started up again. Gladion wasn’t looking forward to more classes, and Luna were scared if someone would notice that the two had become a thing. Lusamine were supposed to have a lecture before Christmas sometime, but had to cancel it due to something else happening at Aether, which was a blessing in disguise for him, but she had agreed to get back over the new year. At least that’s what Lillie had told him a day prior, that she were highly considering doing it again, and were waiting for a reply from the principal. Knowing that classes were starting again tomorrow didn’t make the situation better that Lusamine would most likely show herself at some point. Gladion were out doing running some quick errands while Luna were in the apartment, not really doing anything other than starting to worry about when she would start to crystalize, debating with herself if that was something she would tell Gladion or not. After a while of pacing in the living room, she decided not to tell him unless it started to happen, not wanting to freak him out. She sighed softly and shaked her head, trying to shake the thoughts out of her head, not wanting to think of them. Lillie had told Gladion that there might be some presents that didn’t make it over to them before Christmas, which was why he were out, seeing if they had arrived at the post office, as well as doing other small errands while already being out.

Waiting around at the post office, he eventually got called over, only to get nothing, which didn’t surprise him, telling the person behind the desk that he were there just to check, since a family member had told him to expect something. Walking out of the post office, he were more or less done with everything, just needed to get some new text books for the new year, which was always a pain to find. Getting through the different book stores on the way home, he eventually found it on the last and got it in a hurry, as he noticed other fellow classmates in the distance. Walking out of the store again, he took his time for getting back to the apartment, just looking at the mess that the streets still were in after the new years eve and fireworks. Luna were laying on the couch, snoozing when Gladion got back. Seeing her tail draped over the back of the couch, he closed the door silently, got his jacket and shoes off before walking over, looking over the edge and at her. Not waking her up, he pulled a blanket over her and decided to make something to eat, unless he already had made something, which she usually would do out of practice. Placing the bag with the book in it on the counter, he opened the fridge, and as usual, she had made something, so he didn’t bother to start on anything and just took a little out of that. Using the microwave to heat it up a little, he made sure that he caught it before the alarm on it went off.

Sitting down in a chair beside the couch, he looked through some news and some messages from Lillie, Sol, Hau and Wicke, as well as some from Lusamine while eating. Most of the messages were from Lillie, Sol and Hau, just generally asking things and how life were treating him in general. He quickly replied with short answers and looked over at Luna, who were sound asleep. Luna eventually woke up, stretching herself a little before she sat up.

«Slept well?»

Luna looked over at him and hummed softly. «No...» she muttered softly.

«How come?» he asked, putting his phone and plate with food down on the table, getting up from the chair and got over to her side.

As quickly he sat down beside her, she lightly tackled him down on the couch, taking him by surprise. «Best pillow wasn’t around~.» she murmured, giving him a sweet smile while a faint blush were covering her cheeks.

Gladion just gave her a soft smile back and placed his hands on her waist. «You dumb dog.» he muttered, followed by a soft chuckle.

«Ugh...Whatever.» she muttered, wrapping her arms around him and placing her head on his chest, letting out a content sigh.

Gladion just slightly moved, getting a little more comfortable himself, gently running his hand up and down her back. As he did that, she were slightly wagging her tail, which he noticed and just smiled softly, shaking his head slightly at the sight. Luna just closed her eyes, giving off a soft murring sound.

«Comfortable now?» he asked, followed by a soft chuckle.

She hummed softly. «Very much so~.» she murmured.

He were quite comfortable as well while laying there, and didn’t want to move either. Luna opened her eyes after a few minutes, looking up at him, seeing him with his eyes closed. He wasn’t sleeping, as he still kept running his hand on her back gently. She unwrapped her arms and moved up on him a little. Gladion didn’t bother to open his eyes, but did feel her soft lips on his, her hands gently on his cheeks. She gave him a soft kiss, but he reached up for her and pulled her down again, locking their lips, slipping his tongue in between her lips, gently wrestling and circling hers gently. While keeping the makeout going, he reached down to her rear, and groped her roughly, which made her give off a light squeal, which just made him chuckle lightly and smirk while keeping the makeout going. He knew she wasn’t to found if it, but he couldn’t help himself, knowing that she would let out a soft squeal or a soft moan whenever he did. Keeping the makeout for a while longer before they broke it, ending it with a soft kiss. Luna just gave him a soft smile as she laid down her head beside him, her tail still slightly wagging. Gladion moved his hands from her rear and wrapped them around her, slightly shifting his positing to get a little more comfortable.

After a while, Luna moved off him and got herself something to eat while he sat up. For laying around for a while, they decided to put on a movie, getting something to watch, since there wasn’t much to do other than to mess around, which was something they could do, but he didn’t want to get ahead of himself, Luna being a Fable and all. Watching her get something to eat and stand around the kitchen area eating it, she did ask him if he wanted snacks while watching the movie. Before walking over, she took the plate he had used, putting it in the sink before finding something to much on herself.

«I don’t know. I don’t need any, but if you want anything, just go for it.» he replied.

«Just asking as i’m already over here and can find it.» she said, shrugging.

He nodded. «That’s alright.» he muttered softly, looking over at her.

She finished what she were eating and put the plate and cutlery in the sink. She found a bag of chips and took it with her, placing it on the table in front of them as she sat down beside him, snuggling up close. They looked through the movie library and found something that looked new and went with that, and if it was bad, just move to another movie. Luna draped her tail over their lap as the movie started, being comfortable, not knowing it was a horror movie, which she didn’t like. As the movie started, it was rather normal, other than it slowly picked up on the scares, which made Luna hold around her tail tightly, starting to hide. Gladion just chuckled softly, shaking his head as her eyes kept growing bigger throughout the movie, sink more into the couch and lean in closer to him. He eventually shifted his position and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He felt that she were quite tense, and knew why, chuckling softly because of it.

«It’s not funny...» she hissed at him.

«It’s quite...hilarious.» he murmured to her. Luna just puffed her cheeks and let out a soft growl. He just smiled softly to her, looking rather smug.

For the rest of the movie, she kept her tail in front of her face, holding it tightly and muttering that she hated horror movies. After the movie ended, it had gotten quite dark outside, but just changed it to some normal TV, getting it on a random channel. Hearing something else going on made Luna relax more, letting out a soft sigh.

«You really hate horror?» he asked, looking somewhat surprised at her, considering that they had seen a few already.

«I can’t help it...» she muttered and buried her face in his chest. «I’m not used to them the same way you are...»

«That i do know, i just find it hilarious...» he said, pausing a little as she looked up at him with puffed cheeks. «...and adorable.» he added, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks while giving her a sheepish smile.

Luna just scoffed at him, but a faint blush appeared on her cheeks as well, and it was even more noticeable than his, as her ears would usually lay down slightly on her head. He just lifted up her chin and gave her a soft kiss on her lips, to which she gave him a soft smile at. The rest of the day and evening were for them to relax and for him to mentally get ready for classes to start up again, which was something he didn’t look forward to, being quite comfortable while having Luna laying on top of him, watching shitty TV shows, which was just hilariously bad. While watching the TV, Gladion had gotten a few texts from Lillie, who were sounding quite distressed and upset about what their mother were going to announce pretty soon. Specialized weapons for Fae’s, which Gladion didn’t like the sound off, and were way out of the normal range of what Aether were working on in the beginning. He asked what types she were going to announce first, which Lillie replied with that she didn’t know, only that it was a type of weapon that could give each Fae using them get a specific boost on either of their regular stats, most likely their magic.

Gladion frowed while replying to the messages, as well as Lillie let him know that Lusamine were going to send one down to him, for his Fae to use whenever wanted or needed in a battle. Luna noticed his frown and poked his cheek.

«You okay?» she muttered softly to him.

«I’m fine.» he flatly replied to her, keeping his attention on the phone, scoffing lightly.

«You sure about that? You are frowning really hard though.» she added, which made him look down at her.

«Really, i’m fine. Just got some unsettling news from Lillie.» he said to her, followed by a soft sigh.

Luna hummed softly. «LIke what?» she asked, looking over her shoulder and at his phone.

«Lusamine just...starting on something new as usual to boost the company...» he muttered, slightly hissing it.

«Like what?» Luna repeated herself.

«Specific weapons for Fae’s to use in battle.»

«Weapons? Fae’s and Fable’s don’t need weapons...we have magic or some insane strength.» she replied to him, shrugging lightly.

«I’m aware...It just unsettling to me...as this was not what Aether should be doing in the first place.» he growled. «She’s even sending one over for you.»

«For me even...» she muttered. «I’m sure i won’t use it.»

«Same. Might just put it away as quickly it arrives here.» he added. Luna nodded slightly.

He kept getting a little more information out of it, but eventually gave Wicke a text, hoping that she would send over something for him to look over about those weapons, getting to know what they were intended to be used for and how they are made. Luna didn’t care to much about it, already finding it quite uninteresting. She got more comfortable on him again, giving off a soft, content sigh, muttering for him to put the phone away and give her attention. Gladion just smiled softly when she gave off a soft murring sound, putting the phone on the table and moving down a little on the couch, wrapping his arms around her and rolls over to the side, making him slightly land on top of her. She gave a soft squeal, followed by a soft giggle as he planted his lips on her neck, giving her a few soft pecks.

«Enough attention?» he asked.

«No~.» she murmured.

«Well alright then.» he replied softly, going back to give more kisses on her, as well as some light nibbling.

He reached down to her thigh, lifting her leg up and over his hips, groping her a little rough while keeping his lips on her neck and shoulder area, lightly sucking on a few spots, giving her a few noticeable hickies on her shoulder. He did it on the places where he knew she could cover it up with a jacket or something. Leaning back a little, licking his lips while looking at what he had done, giving her a smug smirk. Luna looked down at her shoulder, and just pursed her lips a little at him, to which he only gave her a soft kiss.

«You can just cover those up with some magic.» he murmured to her.

«Or i might just stay at home until they go away.» she replied.

«They won’t go away if you do that.» he replied to her, the smirk growing to a mischievous grin.

«I think i can deal with that at least~.» she replied, giving him a smug smile.

«I’m sure you can~.» he murmured at her, locking their lips.

They kept going on for a while, him giving her more hickies and love bites as they kept laying on the couch. The TV eventually shut off by its own, which made them stop and look over at it in slight surprise, as well as taking a look at the time, seeing that it was past midnight. Both giving off a sigh as they got untangled from each other and off the couch, taking the lights off and heads to the bedroom, only for him to feel needy when they got under the duvets, pulling her close and just continued were he left off.


	41. Weapon

Classes had been going on for a while, and the air were starting to heat up, indicating that spring were just around the corner. Gladion had also gotten to know that Lusamine would be getting to the region in a few days, and he weren’t excited about it. Luna tried to keep his mind away from it, but as the day grew closer, he got more agitated and nervous about it, fully knowing that Lusamine would throw some shit his way whenever she saw him. It was definitely not the ideal ‘reunion’ for either of them, her going to lecture his class about something, as well as boosting Aether’s reputation, which had gone down after some incident before Christmas, that he didn’t get to know about before the holiday. This day were no different. Gladion being on edge, and Luna doing her best to keep him off the thoughts that kept him down. Sitting in class, listening to the teacher talk about something, which he didn’t catch, being busy with other thoughts and worries.

Luna placed her hand on his shoulder. «Are you okay, Gladion?...You look really down.» she asked, sounding worried.

He nodded and looked at her from the corner of his eyes. «I’m fine...Just...» he started, but stopped, letting out a sigh. «I don’t know...» he added.

«I know you are worried about you mother showing up...But it’s a few more days until that.» she said, tilting her head slightly.

Gladion hummed softly. «I know...» he lightly hissed.

Luna moved her hand off his shoulder, and nodded. «I know you know...but still...» she muttered.

Gladion looked around the room a little, seeing that most people were busy with their own things, as well as they were sitting in the back, so he reached for her hand and gave her a light squeeze. «I’ll be fine. Once she’s out of the region again at least.»

Luna just hummed softly in response as he let her hand go, getting back to whatever the teacher was talking about, trying to at least catch a little of what he said. Luna couldn’t help but to stay worried, but couldn’t do anything either other to believe what he was saying. Luna looked around a little, ending up with looking out of the window until the class were done. As quickly the teacher got out of the classroom, everyone got up from their desks, packed their things and left, finding their way down stairs to the cantine, finding a place to sit down and eat. Luna had as usual made something, and would always overdo it, making it fancy looking.

«What did you make today?» he asked, looking at the box he got up from his bag.

«Bento box, as they are called in Kanto and Jotho.» she replied and grabbed it out of his hands.

«I have heard about those, though, there is usually something different in them all the time.» he replied, watching her open it, revealing it to him. The smell hit him and it were looking quite colorful, and good.

«Then it shouldn’t be a problem. Already knowing that you don’t like overly spicy stuff, you’ll be fine~.» she said and gave him a sweet smile.

«It’s not like i don’t like it...I just can’t handle the spiciness...» he lightly hissed. «But thanks for keeping that in mind.» he added, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

They started to eat, and as usual, Gladion were impressed, as she kept improving her cooking skill, and it did look like she enjoyed doing it, so he couldn’t really complain. Sitting there, just casually talking and eating, Luna jolted all of a sudden, looking rather scared and distressed. Gladion just looked up at her with big eyed.

«What is it?» he asked.

Luna quickly snapped out of it and looked over at him, giving him a sheepish smile. «I bit my tongue...» she muttered softly.

«All that for that little thing? You keep impressing me, Luna.» he flatly replied to her.

«It hurt...» she muttered at him.

«That i’m fully aware of.» he replied and took another piece of the lunch.

Luna took her time to take another piece of the food, slowly chewing on it. She didn’t bit her own tongue, but rather a painful jolt came up on her spine, which could for her, only mean one thing.  _ She have started to crystalize. _ It was something she knew would happen eventually, but she still got quite surprised, thinking that it started as quickly as it did, and the timer for her started to tik. Depending on what Fable it was, for a Kyuubi, it always started with the tail and the spine. As soon as the tail were fully crystalized, the rest of her would be as such in mere minutes, or even seconds, and alway starting with a Kyuubi’s  _ main tail _ , the tail that first formed when being in the womb of their mother, the one they, presumably, needed to earn before turning into a Mythical, which she apparently had done, without knowing it. She kept being quite quiet for the rest of the lunch break and day, starting to worry on how quickly she would crystalize, or if she even had any time left. Getting around and finishing the classes, they got back to the complex, only for the guy in the reception to tell Gladion that there was a package waiting for him at the post office, which Gladion muttered back that he would get it, he just needed to change and get going again. Getting up to their floor and into the apartment, Gladion got changed in a hurry, getting ready to leave again. Luna just stood around, feeling the slight pain that were going down her spine and into the base of her tail, trying her best to ignore it, even though it slightly hurt whenever she moved it, or made a move that made her tail move. Once Gladion had gotten into something casual, he found her standing in the middle of the room.

«You tagging along or staying here?» he asked, walking up to her, placing his hands on her waist.

«I’ll just stay around...If i recall correctly...there’s a show starting soon that i want to take a look at.» she replied, giving him a sweet smile, trying her best to hide that she were in slight pain.

«I won’t be long...Anything you want or need from the store, while i’m out?» he asked, placing his forehead against hers.

«Hmm...» she hummed softly. «I don’t know...snacks? Oh! More rice and some meat for dinner.» she added quickly.

«What meat?»

«Whatever there is...It doesn't really matter.» she replied to him.

Gladion nodded and hummed softly. «Alright. Won’t be long...hopefully.» he muttered. Luna gave a soft giggle as he leaned down to her, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

He let go of her, grabbing a jacket and digging up his wallet from the bag before walking out of the apartment. Luna kept standing there, watching him leave and close the door behind him, listening closely to his steps, making sure that he were somewhere in the hallway, close to the elevator. Once she didn’t hear his steps anymore, she grabbed her tail and gently and slowly moving it to her front, holding it tightly against her. It was quite painful, despite it had just started, and made her worried if it even would go away for the time being, or at least until the next crystal appeared on her. She let out a soft, but painful sigh as she walked over to the couch, sitting down slowly, trying her best to avoid the pain, which was hard, as her mind were fixated on it. As she sat down, she looked behind herself, down at the base of her tail to see if it was visible for other, which it luckily wasn’t. Letting out a sigh in relief, she relaxed a little, and tried to get comfortable for a while when turning the TV on, putting it onto some random channel. Gladion got out of the complex and headed for the post office first, knowing it was the newly developed weapon that Lusamine had sent him, wanting him to get Luna to use it, or at least try it, which was something he didn’t want to, and would just put it away, forget about it. Getting to the post office, he had to wait for a while to even get close to get the package, which irritated him, since there wasn’t many people around. Standing there, waiting for him to get some help, he were just keeping himself busy with some news on the phone. He eventually got some help and the package, which was on the small side, making him curious as of what it actually was. Thanking for their service, he walked out with it on hand, looking at it curiously.

«What the hell is this…?» he muttered to himself.

As he found his way back, he stopped by the store and got some snacks that he knew she liked, which was just regular paprika flavored chips. Getting the other stuff she asked for, he went back to the apartment. Luna were still on the couch, but the pain had subsided, so she were feeling a lot better already. Been sitting there with the TV on, she flinched when the door opened and Gladion walked in, looking over her shoulder at him.

«Got what you needed...I think. You didn’t say any specific meat so…?» he said, shrugging.

«That’s fine. I did tell you to just get whatever there was, as it didn’t matter.» she said and got up, walking over to him.

He handed the bag over to her after he fished out the packed, placing it to the side as he got his shoes and jacket off. Luna got over to the kitchen and got the items out, getting excited when she was her favourite chips flavour in it. She gave a small giggle and wiggled her body as she put it away for later. Gladion heard her giggle and couldn’t help himself to give a soft smile as he reached for the package, looking over at it as she approached Luna in the kitchen corner. Leaning over the counter, he kept looking at the package.

«Do we have any scissors?» he asked, looking over at her, who had started to prepare to make the dinner for the day.

«Yeah...It should be in the drawer...» she muttered and found it for him. «Here you go.» she said and handed it to him.

«Thanks.» he muttered, taking it from her.

While she were preparing for the dinner, Gladion opened up the packed to take a look at the supposed ‘weapon’ Lusamine had sent him. Getting the paper and wrappings off, he got a good look at it. Luna looked over her shoulder to see what it was, as well as he were humming softly while looking at it. Putting down the bowl, she wiped her hands and turned around, looking at it as well. Gladion looked up at her and just shaked his head.

«This is apparently a weapon...» he muttered.

«Looks like a handle for a Katana.» she replied, looking at it while he had it on hand.

Surprised that she said so, he took a quick look and nodded. «I guess...Not sure what they really look like in the first place.» Studying it a little more, turning and twisting it. «A Katana you say? That’s a Kantonese sword...There is no blade on this one.»

«Might need some magic on my part for that ‘blade’ to show, don’t you think?» she said, nodding. «Though, i’m not to sure myself...»

«You’ll never use this...» he hissed, getting off the counter and walking off to the drawer beside the door, putting it there, knowing that it was a place they never put anything other than the keys for the place.

«Didn’t plan to use it...It’s kinda...scary, so to speak.» she said, watching him walk off and ‘hide’ it.

«Scary in what way?» he asked, walking back over to her.

«Well...Since it might need my magic to be useful...you never know how much i need to put into it for it to be stable enough to even work like a Katana. As well as...» she started, pausing, right about to tell about the fact that she had started to crystalize, and didn’t want him to know.

«As well as…?» he parroted, crossing his arms.

«Well...I have almost recently turned into a Mythical...So you can never be to careful...» he muttered sheepishly.

Gladion nodded. «I can see that problem.» Luna just nodded, feeling relieved that she dodged the subject, even though it was her almost starting on it.

Gladion walked around the counter and behind her, wrapping his arms around her while nuzzling into her shoulder. Luna continued to prepare the dinner while he were lingering around, asking questions and generally just making her work slower. She didn’t mind and just replied and ignoring him, at least until he bit her on her shoulder, making her yelp slightly. She frowned at him as she looked over, only to see his smug grin, giving off a soft chuckle. She just narrowed her eyes at him, only for him to give her a light peck on the place he bit her, muttering sorry. She knew he didn’t mean it, but accepted it anyway, hissing that he had to stop, or he would have to starve for the evening.

«Aww...Getting mad for me giving you some love bites?» he chuckled as he started to slide his hands up her waist.

«If you don’t stop, there won’t be any dessert.» she hissed.

He stopped and looked confused at her. «Dessert?» Luna just gave him a smug look, to which he got it quickly. «Oh...Well...What if i want the dessert now and later~.» he murmured.

«Wouldn’t dream of it~.» she murmured back. «And i thought gentlemen usually would wait.»

«Not this one~.» he murmured, giving her a light peck on her shoulder.


	42. Incompetent

Luna haven’t had any more pain from the day she started to crystalize, which was a good sign in itself. No pain for days, at least until the next time it would happen. Gladion were quite irritable as the day arrived when Lusamine would have a lecture for his class, as he clearly didn’t like it. He kept muttering that he would shove the so called ‘weapon’ in her face and leave it with her, not wanting to see it again, nor hear or speak about it. Luna understood why he didn’t want it around her, not knowing the risk of what it can do, as well as it could speed up the process of her getting crystalized. Clearly something she didn’t want, and would avoid it at all costs, unless something happened, that forced her to do something she knew he clearly wouldn’t like. It was an early morning, and Gladion were still asleep and there was at least an hour left before he had to get up and get ready for classes, and to meet his mother again. Luna had been awake for a few minutes already, sitting in the bed and just looking outside, seeing the first spring snow slowly fall down from the sky. She looked over her shoulder as Gladion moved in his sleep, letting out a soft sigh, not seeing that he woke up. She averted her eyes outside again, getting lost in thought and didn’t notice that Gladion moved from his side to his back, letting out another sigh as he ran his hand over his face, as well as pushing his bangs away from his face. 

Blinking a couple of times, he looked over at her, seeing that she didn’t notice him being awake. He reached out for her, gently placing his hand on her lower back. «You okay?» he asked in a husky voice, seeing that she had somewhat of a worried look on her face.

Luna flinched and looked down at him with big eyes of surprise. She let out a soft sigh of relief and nodded. «I’m fine. Why asking?» she asked, giving him a soft smile.

«You just had this worried look on your face.» he replied while sitting up. He stretched his back and looked over at the alarm, seeing that there was a good hour until it would go off. «How long have you been awake though?» he added, looking over at her again.

«I don’t know. For a while i guess?...Or at least it feels i have been for a while.» she muttered, tilting her head to the side a little.

He hummed softly, gently rubbing her back a little before he laid back down and gently patted the bed, gesturing for her to lay down again as well. She looked at him a little, but eventually followed suit, laying down and snuggled up close to him, using his shoulder as a pillow and laying an arm of her over him. He wrapped his arm around her, gently tracing circles on her upper arm, nuzzling into her head. They didn’t fall asleep again, but were just laying there in silence, looking around the room. Gladion let out a content sigh and closed his eyes, and Luna moved her head a little, looking up at him as she reached for him, gently starting to trace down his jawline. As she did, a soft smile grew on his lips, slightly opening his eyes and looking down at her. He just met her eyes and soft smile, and couldn’t help himself as he wrapped his arms around her and rolled over, making him be on top as he gave her a tender kiss on her lips. Luna giggled softly, her hand placed on his neck as she felt his lips on hers, gently returning the tender kiss of his.

«Good morning by the way.» he murmured to her.

Luna giggled. «Good morning to you too.» she murmured back, her tail lightly wagging from feeling content.

Having his arms around her, and her wrapping hers around him, they kept sharing a few soft kisses until the alarm went off, snapping them both out of the intimate morning hour. He growled slightly and got himself unwrapped from her after a last tender kiss. Luna lightly pouted as he moved away and sat on the edge, letting a yawn escape him as he stretched a little more. Luna sat up in the bed as he got off the bed, walking off and into the bathroom. Sitting in the bed for a while, still slightly pouting, she stretched her back and arms as she got out, quickly getting dressed. She put her hair up in a ponytail for a change before walking out to the living room, getting started on some breakfast and lunch for later. She got out to the living room and over to the kitchen, quickly washing her hands as she started on something. It didn’t take long before she figured out what to make for lunch, which was something she always made first, using the leftovers as breakfast in a way. Gladion got changed and walked out, lingering around the door while watching her from afar, cooking. He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms, just watching her enjoy herself, which just brought a soft smile to his face. She didn’t notice him standing there, at least not until she looked over her shoulder for a second, just seeing him standing there, watching her in silence.

«Breakfast is done soon…But why are you standing there? In silence even...» she asked, muttering it.

He walked up and sat down at the breakfast island, chuckling softly. «Just...Watching my  _ girl _ . As far as i know, that’s not a crime.»

Luna just rolled her eyes, but a blush appeared on her cheeks. «Right...» She finished what she made, boxed most of it and plated the rest for them to eat before leaving.

**\----------**

Most of the classes were done by now, and the last one were the lecture where Lusamine would have, and Gladion wasn’t excited. He kept sighing softly throughout the day as it got closer. He had dragged the supposed weapon he got in the mail, highly planning to hand it back to her, telling her straight that he didn’t want anything to do with that stuff. Luna would feel and see the uneasiness on him, and kept telling him that he should calm down.

«It’s just for this lecture...You’ll be fine.» she told him, sounding quite worried.

«I know...» he hissed at her. «Though i already know that i’ll be stabbed...so to speak.»

Luna nodded and hummed softly. «Just try and don’t snap back at her...That will only escalate everything.»

Running his hand over his face, he nodded. «I’m aware...»

Getting to the lecture hall in the main building, they found some seats in the middle of the place, Gladion just wanting to be as far away as possible, without being to far away, as he did need to listen to what she had to say. Getting comfortable, as much as possible at least, in the seats while waiting. Fellow classmates arrived as well, but took seats closer to the whiteboard, but were silently whispering among themselves if Gladion were related to the guest teacher of theirs, as they shared the same last name. Luna heard what they were talking about, and just looked over at him, who were looking rather stern and serious, ready to fire back if anything came his way. Sitting there for a while, their homeroom teacher arrived, as well as Lusamine walked in, making most of the class gasp and look back and over at Gladion, which made him very uncomfortable, frowning. Giggles were starting, but their homeroom teacher introduced her quickly and letting her start with whatever she would be talking about, taking a seat at the end of the first row, listening carefully.

Lusamine introduced herself with a sweet smile, and started with explaining what she would be talking about, sounding quite chipper about it. Listening carefully to what she were saying, the others were whispering in between themselves that Gladion couldn’t be related to her, as he were so stern and serious looking all the time, while Lusamine were being all chipper and lively, sounding really passionate about what she were talking about. As she finished, the homeroom teacher started to clap, getting the rest to follow her suit as he gave them a slight glare. As she finished and thanked her for the useful information, she suggested that people get over to the battlefields for some practice, since there was more time left of the class, and he didn’t want them to leave early. Everyone packed and started to leave the hall, as well as Gladion got his bag, and started to head down towards the door, only to be stopped by Lusamine.

«Gladion. Would you please stay behind for a little...I want to have some words with you.» she said gently, though, Gladion could hear the harsh undertone in it.

«What do you want?» he hissed at her. Some of the classmates of his were standing around the door, listening slightly to what they would be talking about.

«Oh, dear Gladion...I just simply want to ask about the item i sent you. Have your Fae tried it out yet?» she asked, looking over at Luna, who were standing a little behind him.

«No. There is no way i’m letting her use it.» he hissed at her, digging it up from his bag and hold it in front of her. «She don’t need anything silly like this, mother.»

«Tsk...Keep it as a keepsake. You never know anyway.» she hissed back at him. «And on another note...» she started, pausing and looked over Luna. «Why don’t you show me what you have learned...battle wise.»

Holding the weapon on hand, his fist clenched it tightly. It was the last thing he wanted, and were about to snarl at her that there would be no battle, only for Luna to gently put her hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of it and looking over at her in surprise. She nodded, gesturing him that he should accept it. Her eyes were narrow, and quite serious looking, and he could tell that she were serious about it, no matter what battle it was. If it was to keep his emotionally abusive mother out of his way, then she would do it, no matter what it took to keep her at bay.

Gladion nodded. «Fine...» he hissed at her, accepting it on Luna’s behalf.

«Great...Now, shall we head to the battle grounds, as this place is definitely not a place for a battle.» she said and walked over to the desk, gathering the papers and documents. Gladion hummed and put the weapon down into his bag, getting irritated and frustrated about the situation.

«Why did you make me accept it?» he asked as quickly Lusamine were out of the room.

«She just wants to see me use the weapon...if that’s what it takes to keep her at bay, then so be it.» Luna replied to him, giving him a sweet smile.

«I really wanted to avoid that...» he muttered, shaking his head slightly.

«I know. But i’ll take over it on the battleground, showing her that you ain’t as  _ incompetent _ as she wants you to be.» she said, giving him a playful wink.

A faint blush appeared on his cheeks. «Right...» he muttered, looking away from her and started to walk off.

Luna were surprised. She knew he didn’t take a compliment, as he didn’t know how to, but the fact that he had been told that he was were irking her the wrong way. «What…? Do you really think you are?» she asked, going after him, managing to stop him.

«Luna...Please...» he muttered.

«No! Oh my gosh...» she muttered, slightly hissing it at him. «You should take more credit than what you already do! You are no such thing as dumb! Nor incompetent!» she added, snarling.

«Only one who thinks that then...»

She walked up front to him, and cupped his cheeks. «Gladion...» she started, their eyes locked. «I’ll literally keep telling you. Over and over, that you ain’t incompetent...Literally...You are the top of your class...You  _ should _ take more credit.»

He sighed and slightly hung his head while she cupped his cheeks. «Thanks.» he said softly.

«Huh…?» she muttered softly, looking at him with big eyes, quite surprised. He just gave her a soft smile. A genuine one, which was rare, at least out in public. Luna just puffed her cheeks at him. «You just wanted to see me mad...» she added, hissing it.

He chuckled. «Maybe…?»

«...You truly are an idiot...» she hissed and let go of his cheeks, walking out of the room. Gladion just followed after her, chuckling softly.


	43. Crystal Pain

Gladion kept on chuckling as they walked out of the building, finding their way over to the battle grounds, finding Lusamine sweet talking the homeroom teacher. Lusamine’s Fae were standing a little behind her, just listening in silence and waiting for an order. He were quite familiar with the Fae, it being a blonde Kitsune, with a few white markings on her tail, and had been around for a while at Aether, helping out with whatever of testing new things that the company produced throughout the year. Gladion got more serious as the two walked up to them, and Luna would see that he were quite uneasy about the whole thing. They stopped in front of them, and his homeroom teacher asked Gladion if he were really accepting it, to which he nodded at. As Gladion agreed again, Lusamine just smirked, looking over her shoulder at her Fae, giving her a nod to get onto the battlefield and to get ready. Gladion looked over at Luna, and they just nodded at each other, Luna starting to find her way to the opposite ground on the battlefield, facing the other Kitsune. The Kitsune just looked over Luna, only giving her a mischievous smirk, which irked Luna the wrong way.

Gladion and Lusamine kept standing there, Lusamine looking at the battlefield, looking over Luna and just scoffed. «Hmfp...She doesn't look like anything special. Much less...strong.»

Gladion scoffed. «You don’t know what you are saying...» he hissed.

«Tsk...Being here have made your tongue sharp.» she hissed, scowling at him.

«Lays in the family.» he replied, and walked off, getting to the side behind Luna, swallowing thickly as he were feeling quite uneasy, something Luna noticed.

She looked over her shoulder, looking over at him. He took a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh, shaking his head slightly in an attempt to shake off the uneasiness. Luna turned and walked over to him, tilting her head at him. «You alright...You certainly don’t look like it.»

«I’m fine. Let’s just get it over with...» he muttered. Luna hummed softly and nodded.

She turned, and walked out again, facing the other Fae who were still keeping a smirk on her face. Luna just narrowed her eyes at her, getting rather serious again and quite ready to get it over with. She were holding the weapon that Gladion got a few days earlier, and she would avoid using it unless it was necessary. The other Kitsune were holding a similar one, the only difference were that it had a different color on it’s handle. Lusamine got over to her side, and stood there quite proudly, giving off a mischievous energy, which Luna noticed and completely ignored, but knew it would put Gladion off. The homeroom teacher stood there and would watch, making sure that nothing went down to harshly, but at the same time, he couldn’t do much, knowing that it was, most likely, a family matter. He gave the sign for them to start, and were looking in anticipation, as he knew that Luna, Gladion’s Fae were quite strong, and smart when it came to improvise, so this would be quite the interesting battle. Lusamine ordered her Fae to attack, to which Luna dodged in a hurry, as the attack came from the front, making it easy.

The battle kept on going, and Lusamine kept ordering her Fae around, using the custom weapon as well, which were looking like a Katana when magic were used to form a blade. Luna kept avoiding to use it, but as she got kicked off, getting her face planted into the wall, Lusamine’s Fae were giving of a mischievous chuckle. Luna growled and got up on her feet, clenching tightly around the handle as she turned around, taking a stance. With a light growl, she used a small portion of her magic and made a blade come out of he handle, giving it a light purple glow emitting from it. Being quite beaten up, which was a normal occurrence for her, as she wanted to get to know her opponent before going in full offence.

«I’m done playing around...» she hissed.

The other Kitsune just watched her in surprise as she walked out to the field again, not understanding how she even could walk after being kicked and thrown all over the field. As they met each others eyes, Luna’s eyes slitted, which made the other Fae slightly flinch, as that was something a Fae couldn’t do, not even if they tried to.

«You are not a Fae...» she hissed slightly at her.

«Surprise i guess.» Luna said, shrugging. «Fine with me if you are going to quit because of that.» she added, giving her a smirk. The Fae scoffed and launched at her, swinging the  _ Katana _ at her, going out full offence on her.

Again, the battle continued, but got more intense as Luna were fully going offencive instead of taking a beating. Their weapons clashing occasionally, as well as Luna had no idea how to use a Katana, and just followed suit of what she saw and felt right doing with it. She knew the basic, that a Katana were made to make swift cuts, and not to clash with others. Apparently it didn’t seem like the other Fae did know that, and kept swinging it around, in hopes that it would hit her eventually. Luna got a few cuts here and there, as well as the other Fae did so. In the end, Luna got really annoyed by holding it, and decided to throw it to the side. As quickly she stopped focusing some magic into it and threw it off, an incredible pain came over her lower back and the base of the tail, making her fall to her knees in pain, holding in the painful groan as she hunched over, standing on all four. The Fae looking down at her in surprise, watching her expression being rather painful looking, despite nothing that could be seen on her hurting her.

It then went up for the other Kitsune. «You are crystalizing…?» she muttered softly looking at her in shock, taking a step back.

Lusamine, Gladion and the teacher were just looking in shock and surprise, not sure what was going on. Gladion called out for her, asking if she were okay. She just waved at him and slowly got up on her feet, ignoring the intense pain to the best of her ability. Her eyes changed color from the usual grey, to a light purple one, emitting a slight glow, making the other Fae swallow thickly, feeling quite the serious energy coming from her.

«You don’t say shit about it...» she snarled at her. The Fae just nodded slightly, feeling quite intimidated by the glare she gave her.

By ignoring the pain, she were able to move, but the progress of her crystalizing would speed up to a certain point, but didn’t know how fast it would get. She couldn’t lose this battle, not wanting to make Gladion look like a fool in front of his own mother, who were quite degrading when it came to him. Luna took a step and accelerated, giving her a hard punch to her abdomen, the hit sending the Fae back and beyond Lusamine, who just watched in surprise and slight shock that she actually lost, to her own son, which made her flabbergasted as she looked behind her, seeing and hearing her Fae slowly get up from the ground, groaning. The teacher concluded that as the end of the battle, declaring Gladion as the winner for it, seeing that Luna were still standing. Lusamine looked over at Luna, and were quite surprised, as it looked like she were just in great pain, and were still able to get a powerful hit out. Luna’s breathing were quite slow, focusing on keeping the pain at bay, at least to the best of her ability at the moment. Lusamine just nodded at him and left, not giving him anything else that that, other than a cold shoulder from her. Her Fae got up on her feet, and hurried to her side, but took a last look at Luna over her shoulder, feeling a bit worried that she knew that she were crystalizing. Luna just gave her a glare, which made it clear that she would say anything about it.

The teacher hurried along side with Lusamine, as he needed to ask a few questions before she made her leave back to Alola in a day. Gladion started to walk over to Luna, only for her to sink down to her knees, taking deep breaths as the pain slowly got back over to her, getting. Gladion hurried over and kneeled down to her. «You okay…?» he asked, looking like he were about to panic.

«I just want to go home...» she muttered, her voice cracking and her body slightly shivering.

Gladion nodded and helped her up on her feet. «Let’s just get going then...We are done for the day anyway.»

On the way to the complex, it took quite the time, as Luna were in great pain and had to stop a few times on the way, but kept herself somewhat steady, and kept telling Gladion that she were just exhausted, and being a new Mythical, she didn’t know where her limit was, and told that she apparently found it, giving him a nervous chuckle. Gladion wasn’t convinced, and once they were in the apartment, he would call the doctor that were treating Fae’s, hoping that they had something or knew something that would ease the pain she were feeling, as he could tell it was some great pain she were feeling. Taking their time, the eventually got to the apartment. Luna muttered that she would just go and lay down and slowly found her way to the bedroom, while Gladion just watched her walk off, feeling terrible as he didn’t know what he could do to help her. Once she were in the bedroom and closed the door behind her, he got his phone up, looked up the number and called for the doctor, wanting to ask a few questions and hopefully get something to help her ease the pain.

Once the call got through, he asked several questions, as well as ruling out other different things. Giving the basics of what he had seen, which was that it looked like her pain were in her lower back. With a little more talk, Gladion got to know that some simple painkillers would most likely do the trick for the most intense pain, other than that, a massage around her lower back would as well ease the pain. As he heard that, he clarey started slightly regret even calling, but decided to get out and get the painkillers first at least, thinking that it would help. Luna were laying on her front in the bed, groaning silently to herself, just doing her best to ignore the pain that were going up her spine and down her tail, making her tense up. Gladion left silently and hurried to a pharmacy to get some kind of painkillers. Luckily, the humanoid Fae’s, and most likely Fable’s, could use the same medicine as humans, so it was an easy get. He didn’t be out for long as he got back, hearing her silently sob. He got a glass of water for her, taking the medicine with him and walked into the bedroom, finding her laying on her front, her face buried into the pillow. He got over to her side, put the glass on the nightstand and sat down beside her on the edge.

«Luna?» he called for her, running his hand gently on her back. She just hummed softly. «I got some painkillers...Can’t you take them? It might help ease the pain for now.»

She nodded and slowly got up. She were sure that it wouldn’t help, but she would take them anyway, as she didn’t have anything to lose by taking them. He handed her the painkillers and the glass of water as she got up, sitting there with tear stained cheeks. It was a sight he didn’t like, watching her gulp down the medicine. Gently running his hand on her back, he asked if she were going to stay in bed for a while.

Luna nodded. «For a while at least...» she muttered. She looked over at him. «I’m sorry...»

«You have nothing to apologize for. Just rest and get better.» he muttered softly, lifting her chin up as he gave her a soft kiss. «I’ll be around, as usual.»

Luna let out a soft chuckle. «I know.» she replied, giving him a sweet smile. «Thank you.» she added, muttering it softly.

Gladion gave her another soft kiss before he got up from the bed, leaving her be to get some proper rest, as well as hoping that the painkillers would ease it a little, despite not knowing why she was in pain, other than what she had told him. Watching him leave the room, she slowly got down onto the bed again, taking a deep breath while trying her best not to focus on the pain. Gladion got to work on some homework, getting it done before anything else that would happen, beside a very snarky mail he got from Lusamine, which he skimmed through and just let it be after that, not wanting anything to do with it or her after the happenings earlier. Looking over at the door to the bedroom, he came to remember that the doctor had told him that a massage might help.

«Only  _ that _ if the painkillers won’t work...» he muttered to himself while getting through the homework.


	44. Out n About

Months passed, and Luna had been slowly crystalizing. By the speed it had taken, it would be long before she would be fully crystalized. The pain had gotten worse, to the point that she couldn’t walk most of the time it happened, luckily, she had been careful and stayed at the apartment most of the time, making sure that she had a place to ‘hide’ from the public view. She also kept telling Gladion that it was just random muscle sprains or other things related to her being a new Mythical, which he just nodded at and didn’t ask any more questions about it, just making sure that she wasn’t in to much pain and that she were comfortable when she was. Gladion were away taking the last classes before the summer break started, while she were in the apartment, being in pain as it started right away when he left. She were laying on her front in the bed, whining softly while clenching the sheets on the pillow tightly, taking deep breaths, doing the only thing she can do while coping with the pain. The pain would eventually stop, as it was only when she spine were fully crystalized, when that’s done, her main tail would start, which can either be quick or slow, depending on how much she would be using her magic in whatever situation.

Gladion had promised her to get some more painkillers when he were done with the classes for the day, just in case, as well as they were kinda working, taking off the worst of the pain. Luna still haven’t told him why she were in pain, and kept on with the excuses that it was just her adjusting to be a Mythical, which he accepted, since there wasn’t much information about it. While he were gone, the pain subdued and while she were still laying in bed, she drifted off to sleep, feeling exhausted after just keeping her focus on not being in pain. Gladion were in his class, but as soon he were done, he were planning to get the painkillers, get some take-out food, believing that she wouldn’t be feeling up for making anything, and just get home, hoping that she does feel a little better. Once the class ended, he packed his stuff and got going, quickly getting over to a pharmacy to get some medicine, as well as on the way over, he gave the Kantonese take out place a call, ordering something simple to pick up. While getting the painkillers and the food, a flyer flew straight onto his face. Growling to himself, he took it on hand and were about to throw it away before he saw what it was about. Some summer festival about something. It was still a few weeks until then, but dragged it with him, thinking that it would be of some interest to Luna, as she had been sitting inside most of the time, being in pain. Getting back to the apartment, Luna had moved to the couch, looking better as she looked over her shoulder when he got in, giving him a sweet smile.

«Welcome home~.» she said cheerfully.

Gladion just smiled softly. «Thanks.» he muttered. «Didn’t think you wanted to make anything, so i got some take out...» he added while taking the shoes off, holding the bag up.

Luna turned on the couch, slightly leaning over the back. «Oh? What did you get?» she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

«Just some Kantonese take out.» he replied, getting over to the kitchen counter and put the bag on there. He looked over at her again. «You feeling better? I did get some more painkillers for you if not.»

«I’m feeling okay now, but thank you~.» she replied and got up from the couch, walking over to him as he got the items out of the bag. She got up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, placing her forehead onto his back. «I’m sorry...» she muttered.

He hummed softly, not sure why she were apologizing now. «Why are you apologizing?»

«Ain’t you lonely in class and such…?» she muttered.

«I’m fine.» he replied and turned around to face her. Luna loosened her grip around him, allowing him to turn around, only for him to lift her chin up, meeting his gaze. «Beside...» he started, giving her a soft smile. «Not everyone can get home to  _ this _ .»

«Cheesy…~» she whined softly at him.

«But it’s working.» he murmured and leaned in close, giving her a soft kiss. Her lips were tasting rather sweet, which made him go in for more, wondering what she had been eating. «What have you been eating on when i were gone?» he muttered, licking his lips.

«Some sweets?» she softly replied.

«I can taste that...but what kind?» he asked, going in for more  _ taste testing _ .

«Just some strawberry flavoured ones...» she muttered softly before his lips were on her’s again.

He kept her chin lifted up as he slipped his tongue in between her lips, gently wrestling with hers, both of their breaths starting to get ragged as they kept on going, which only started as a simple kiss. They parted, their lips slightly hovering over each other as they were gazing into each others eyes. Luna gave a soft smile, which he ended up with doing as well before giving her a light peck, letting go of each other. Gladion kept licking his lips as he turned around, reaching for the flyer from earlier. Luna were still having her arms around him as he showed her the flyer.

«You have been sitting inside for a while.» he muttered, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

Luna unwrapped her arms and took the flyer on hand, looking at it closely. «A festival?» she read, tilting her head.

«Seems like it.»

«You going?» she asked, looking up at him.

«As i said...You have been sitting inside for a while...So...If you want to go, i don’t mind taking you there...» he muttered, the blush intensifies slightly.

Luna smiled sweetly at him. «I’d love to, but it’s a few more weeks until then.»

«Yeah...» he muttered. «As long as you are actually up for it when it happens.» he added, placing his hands on her hips and pulled her close to him, nuzzling into her forehead.

«We’ll see. I can’t really predict whenever i’m in pain...Wish i could though...» she muttered, pouting a little.

He gave her a light peck on her forehead. «I’m sure you’ll be fine.» Luna just nodded slightly. While standing there for a little, a low growl could be heard, which made her blush and hide her face in her hands, to which Gladion just chuckled at. «Good thing i got food with me.» Luna just slightly nodded.

Getting the contents out of the bag, and looking on what was what, they started to eat. Luna were digging in, as she haven’t been eating all day when he were gone, only been in bed and in pain. Eating and just asking her if she were alright, and not in any more pain for the time being, she nodded and assured him that she were fine. Sitting there, eating the food while the TV were on and when the program were interrupted by some commercials and one of the music groups that have caught Luna’s attention came up, showcasing a few songs from their new album. Gladion noticed that her tail were swaying with the rhythm.

«You like that type of music?» he asked before taking another bite of the food.

«It’s catchy...» she muttered.

«But do you even understand what they are saying?» he asked, looking over at the TV. He were looking at her with a puzzled look, as the song that were playing were in Kantonese.

«I do. Why is that a surprise?» she asked, taking a bite of the food.

He just narrowed his eyes at her, still looking quite confused. «I can’t recall you ever told me that...or anything similar...»

«I’m original from Kanto though...» she muttered lightly with her mouth stuffed with food, chewing it. She swallowed it, licking her lips. «I think i have mentioned it at some point though.»

Gladion nodded slightly. «Didn’t catch that then...»

«That’s alright...Now you know again~.» she replied with a sweet smile.

The commercial ended, and a new show started, which ended up not catching any of their attention. They finished eating, tossed the trash away and put whatever there was of leftovers in the fridge before deciding to go out, at least she wanted to get out a little, get some fresh air. Gladion left to get out of the uniform first, while Luna got some of her shoes on and a jacket. As he got back out of the bedroom and in casual, he got into his shoes and grabbed a jacket, putting it on as they left the apartment. Getting out of the complex, they walked off and towards the park, as she had heard something that were going to happen there. She didn’t know what or when, but wanted to check it out regardless if she missed it or were just in time. Gladion didn’t know why she were slightly hurrying, but would figure out soon enough when getting to the park. Getting over and walking into the park which were decorated quite fancy. There wasn’t anything going on, which meant that she were to late, but she didn’t mind. Gladion were looking around, seeing the decoration, as well as Luna in front of him, looking rather excited as she were taking in the sight.

Luna turned around towards him, giving him a sweet smile while her hands were behind her back, looking around some more. Gladion had his hands in the pockets of his jacket, just watching her looking happy. Walking around a little, they noticed that there wasn’t really any people around, which made Luna end up beside him and linking her arm with him, sliding her hand down into his pocket and intertwine their fingers. He didn’t mind, but kept his attention to the surroundings, making sure that if they had to let go of each other, they could do that in a hurry. The park were probably decorated for the coming festival, or at least to figure out what it would be looking alike when the event happens. Decorations were in quite the light colors, mostly bright pinks and a lot of white, which made him wonder what kind of festival this actually was, as he didn’t take a good look at the flyer earlier. He just saw the word festival and some fancy colors and that was about it.

«Oh, this is the festival on the flyer you showed me...at least the decorations.» she said softly, looking around.

«I guess…? I didn’t look to well on the flyer.» he muttered.

«I saw something on the TV, though i didn’t know what it was...» she said. She gave a soft giggle, looking up at him. «Can’t wait~.»

Gladion just gave her a soft smile. «I can see that.» he said, followed by a soft chuckle.

It being early spring, the wind were quite chilly at times still, despite it slowly warming up and the sun starting to heat up more. It was rather nice and nothing like Alola, were it was hot and most spring, quite humid because of the rain season. They kept walking around the park, just taking in the sight of the decorations for the time being, still having their fingers intertwined in his pocket. It had been a while for him, but he didn’t deny it to himself that he had never been happier. Luna had been quite the handful, but that was just a part of getting to know her and now that he did, somewhat, she was more than he ever wished for, despite her being a Mythic Fable. He didn’t notice it himself, but he usually got a very serious look on his face, as well getting very silent. A different type of silent, one that Luna noticed.

She smiled softly and giggled. «You okay there?»

He slightly flinched and looked down at her. «What?» he muttered as he didn’t hear her.

She just giggled softly. «I asked if you were ok, since you got that serious look on your face, as well as you get unusually silent.»

Giving off an embarrassed smile, as well as a nervous chuckle. «I’m fine...Just...thinking really...»

«Oh? About what?» she asked, tilting her head a little.

«Nothing important, and that’s a fact.» he replied, leaning a little over her.

Luna leaned back a little. «Okay...I was just asking...» she muttered.

«I know.» he replied, giving her a mischievous smirk.

Seeing his smirk, she just puffed her cheeks, which made him laugh softly, finding her adorable. Walking around the park some more, they got to the entrance again and got separated before walking out, heading back to the apartment. It was a small heartbreak on her part, as she didn’t want to let go of his hand, but she knew why, and didn’t whine about it. On the way back, they stopped at a store to get some of the sweets she had been eating earlier, showing him the ones, and got more. He didn’t mind her lips taste like that, which made it just more interesting for him, but that was something he didn’t admit, keeping it solely to himself or else she would use that against him to get what she wanted. And that in itself would be a pain.


	45. All Nighter

It got dark rather quickly as they walked the streets, Luna holding the small bag with the sweets and keeping a content smile on her lips. She had already planned her evening, which was getting comfortable in the couch and watch some move or a show, and hopefully managing to drag Gladion with her. They got to the apartment, got off the jackets and shoes and Luna got over to the couch right away, getting comfortable while Gladion walked over to the fridge, getting himself a soda can before joining her while sipping on the soda. Once he got down beside her, she scooted closer and he got his arm around her shoulders for comfort. Deciding on just to binge watch some shitty show on the TV, they got comfortable. Getting through some of the episodes, they had moved slightly on the couch. Gladion laying down, and Luna laying on top, both having their attention on the screen, as well as Gladion were lightly rubbing her back. Keeping on watching it, Gladion slowly got drowsy and eventually nodded off. Luna noticed that his breathing changed and looked up at him, seeing that his eyes were closed. Crawling up a little on him, she softly called his name. 

«Gladion?» she muttered softly. He wasn’t entirely asleep as he hummed softly in response. «You tired?» she asked.

«A bit. Why?» he muttered.

«We’ll just take the evening then.» she said and reached for the remote.

Gladion hummed softly and opened his eyes, looking down at her, only for him to stare straight at her cleavage. He hurried to look in a different direction, but couldn’t hide the massive blush that came to his cheeks. Her chest, being a bit to revealing in that top she was wearing, all squished onto his lower torso. Luna turned the TV off and looked down at him, seeing his very blushed face, and just giggled softly when she figured out why. She poked his cheek, which made him look at her from the corner of his eyes.

«What…?» he lightly hissed.

«To good of a view~?» she murmured, giving him a playful smirk. He gave off a low growl, and she started to wriggle her body a little, lightly grind on him.

«A bit to much of a view...» he muttered.

Luna just rolled her eyes and shaked her head, getting off him and the couch. He sat up, looking at her as she were stretching her back. He eyed her up hungrily, licking his lips as he grabbed her hips and pulled her down to his lap before she could react properly, letting out a light yelp. Before she could get up, he wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling into her neck as he gave her a light peck.

«And where do you think you are going?» he murmured.

He let out a soft sigh. «Apparently nowhere.»

«Good thing you already know.» he muttered softly, giving her a light peck on her shoulders.

As he gave her the light peck, he didn’t stop there, but kept on going. Tugging the strap of her top away with his teeth, letting it slide down her shoulder, one of his hands found its way under the top, and slowly feeling her up to her chest, pushing the bra up as he cupped her gently, running his index finger around her nipple. His other hand were finding its way down, undoing the jeans, sliding his hand in under to her womanhood, starting to gently rub, making her let out a small, light moan, which made him even more turned on. He kept planting soft kisses on her neck and shoulder area, occasionally nibbling gently, his hot breath lightly tickling her skin. He slipped his hand down more, forcing her slightly to spread her legs more as he slipped a finger in between her lips, lightly starting to rub her sweet spot. As he started, she lightly jolted, her body lightly shivering as she quickly placed her hand over his. He kept on going until her moans became slightly louder and pronounced before removing his hand from her nether region, hearing her pant heavily.

«W-why did you s-stop…?» she muttered between her heavy breaths.

«Because you need to turn around.» he murmured to her. Moving both of his hands on her hips, giving her a light squeeze as a gesture to move.

Before she could fully move off him, he sped up the process for her, forcing her to turn, and pinned her down to the couch as he crawled over. Luna yelped lightly as she got pinned down, her hands placed over her head, looking rather surprised up at him, only to see his narrow green eyes, and a smirk plastered across his lips. She couldn’t help but to get beet red, sinking down into the couch in an attempt to hide. Gladion leaned down, chuckling softly.

«Ain’t you adorable looking~.» he murmured. 

Luna puffed her cheeks. «Shut up...» she muttered silently. She didn’t think he would hear it, but he did and it just made him chuckle.

Holding her hands over her head with one hand, his other lifted up her top up, followed by the bra she were wearing. He quickly cupped her and started to run his thumb over her nipple, while placing his lips over the other, lightly sucking and tugging with his teeth. Soft moans were escaping from her, which were making him want to hear more, but didn’t want to go to fast, savouring and taking his time on her. Letting his hand go down from her breast, trailing his hand softly down her abdomen and under her undergarment, for her womanhood again, slipping in his fingers again, slowly moving his hand into her. Hitting her inner sweet spot, she arched her back up towards him, slightly moving her hips. Thrusting into her a little he slipped his fingers out, as well as removing his lips from her breast, licking his lips a little before moving up to her, locking their lips, slipping his tongue in between her lips, circling around hers, claiming his territory. With a swift movement, he pulled her jeans down, followed by her undergarments. Breaking the kiss with a light gasp coming from her, he turned her over to her front, keeping her pinned down while he undid his jeans, revealing his hard member. Her tail were very much in the way, so he lightly pushed it to the side before taking a firm grip on her hip, pulling her rear up towards him, his length rubbing against her.

He kept teasing her a little before he guided himself into her, feeling her getting wrapped tightly around him, making him let out a light huff. Luna’s tail got wrapped around his waist as he started to thrust into her. He let go of her hands and placed both of his hands on her hips, keeping her steady and on place while he kept going into her. She kept her arms in front of her, tightly holding onto the pillow in front of her, biting her lower lip in a bad attempt to muffle her moans, which didn’t work for long when a soft moan escaped her lips. Thrusting into her, it didn’t really take to long before he reached the end of his run, pulling out before any damage were done. Luna got rather confused when he tightly gripped her hips, and getting done rather quick, despite working her up a lot. Breathing heavily, he sat down on the couch, feeling rather satisfied, letting out a satisfied sigh. Luna got up, sitting with her back against him as she slowly turned her head, giving him a quite unsatisfied glare. She hit him straight in his face with her tail, wiping the content expression off him. Grabbing her tail, he glared over at her, only to see her shake her head, keeping her eyes narrow at him. Is glare softened when seeing her, and opened his mouth, about to say something, but she got up from the couch instead, pulling up her underwear and pants, not bothering to button them up, as well as pulling down the bra and top.

«I’m definitely not done...» she lightly hissed, looking over at him with a rather mischievous smirk. She walked off, keeping the smirk on her face as she left the room. Gladion carefully watched her leave, swallowing thickly.

_ Should i be scared…? _

She didn’t come back out, so he got up from the couch himself, pulling his jeans up and covering his member before walking off towards the direction she went. Looking down the hallway to the bedroom, she would either be in there, on in the bathroom, but since she were quiet, he couldn’t tell. Taking a chance, he got into the bedroom, which were rather dark. Looking around, she were clearly not in there as he walked more in.

«Looking for me?» she murmured behind him.

Gladion flinched and looked over his shoulder, meeting her eyes, which were now slitted and giving off a slight glow. «Uuh...» he muttered as he turned around to face her.

«Done resting? Because i’m not done~.» she murmured, lightly placing her hand on his chest, pushing him backwards while she walked towards him, keeping eye contact with him. The intimidation she gave him were quite real, but it intrigued him at the same time, that feeling going overdrive over the intimidation.

Feeling the edge of the bed behind his legs, she lightly kept pushing him, making him sit down, and as he did, she got onto his lap, her tail wagging rather violently as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Their eyes were still locked on each other as she leaned in close, her lips hovering over his. Gladion were just waiting for her lips on his, and the urge to just lean in for the last few millimeters were big, but he managed to restrain himself, not knowing that would happen if he actually did. After hovering over his lips that seemed like several minutes, she locked their lips, their tongues gracefully touching. Keeping herself on his lap, his hands found their way to her waist, holding her tightly as he started to lean back, making her come down with him. Keeping their lips locked on each other for a while, Luna already knew that she had no clue what she was doing. Breaking the makeout, she sat up on him, looking rather confused and slightly upset.

Gladion looked up confused at her. «What? Something wrong?» he asked, seeing her light pout.

«I don’t know what i’m doing...» she muttered, looking a little troubled.

He sat up, giving her a soft smile. «Well...You got me in the mood again. Isn’t that what you wanted?» he asked. Luna got a deep red color on her cheeks and averted her gaze away from him. He placed his hand on her cheek, which made her look at him again. «Just...» he started, pulling him to her, giving her a tender kiss. «...Just let me...» he murmured.

He gave her another kiss before taking his shirt off, tossing it to the side before pulling her down onto the bed again, locking their lips. His hands going up from her waist, to her bra strap, unhooking it and slides it off without breaking the makeout. His hand gently going over her bare back, slowly going down to her lower back, onto her hips and then her thighs, lightly groping her. Breaking the makeout, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled over, making him land on top of her. He didn’t unwrap his arms from her, sliding them up her back to her shoulder blades, keeping her close as he planted his lips on her neck, lightly and sensually going over her skin. He started to slide his hand down her side, down to her waist and stopping at her hip, his fingers lightly touching her skin. Leaning back a little, their eyes met. Her eyes weren’t slitted, nor emitting a slight glow, but were rather soft as he kept looking down at her, trying to find an answer as of why she was looking at him like that, the light from outside lightly hitting her face, making it look like her eyes had a glow to them. He didn’t find any answer from her as he leaned down, giving her a tender kiss before reaching down for her underwear, sliding them off, as well as his own before going over her again, locking their lips. Their breaths getting ragged in between the light gasps in the heavy makeout. Before going any further, she had reached for the small pack on the side, handing it to him. Putting it on in a hurry, he guided himself into her again, locking their lips as he slowly started to move his hips, her legs lightly wrapped around his hips. Setting the pace slow and comfortable, keeping his focus on her, exploring her all over again.

Breaking the heavy kisses, he started to go down her neck, softly nibbling and slide his lips over her skin, his hot breath tickling her skin lightly. He reached for her hands, keeping them pinned down beside her shoulders, intertwining their fingers as he kept going on her neck and shoulders. Hearing soft moans and gasps coming from her gave him goosebumps down his back, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Slightly speeding up the pace as her moans became a little louder, as well as tightening the grip on his hands and arching her back, pressing herself up against him. Their breaths being heavy and ragged, he locked their lips again, their tongues gracefully wrestling and circling around each other. Thrusting into her with a steady pace, he could feel her inner walls starting to spasm tightly around him, as well as her breath started to crack lightly. Hearing that, he broke the makeout, speeding up a bit more, his own breath lightly starting to crack, feeling himself getting close. Getting in a few more thrusts, her inner walls tightened as her body tensed up, pressing herself up against him, her fingers slightly digging into his hands. Her moan were quite cracked and slightly loud when she reached the end of her run, as well as it sending him over the edge, letting out a soft groan. Them both taking heavy breaths and lightly shivering from the intense pleasure they both felt from. Looking down at her, eyes locked for a brief second as he leaned down, giving her a tender, but passionate kiss. Letting go of each others hands, pulling out of her and laying down on his back beside her, getting the rubber off. He let out a soft, content sigh as she got over to her side, snuggling up close. She gave a off a light sigh, which made him look over at her.

«What?» he asked, running his hand over his face, pushing his bangs away.

«Never let me do that again...» she muttered lightly.

«Do what?» he asked, pulling her over and slightly on top of him. «Getting me in the mood again?» he added, giving her a smirk. She just lightly pouted, burying her face in his shoulder in embarrassment, letting out a light groan and a small nod. He chuckled softly. «Didn’t really mind...» he replied, not wanting to remember the slight intimidation he felt. «It was...rather adorable.»

She gave him a light slap on his chest. «Shut up...» she muttered, feeling her cheeks getting hotter.

«Ow...» he muttered lightly, followed by him chuckling.

He kept chuckling a little, but stopped when she looked up at him and pinched his nose, making him look down at her, seeing her little pout. He just lifted her chin and planted a kiss on her lips, which made a soft smile appear. They got under the duvet eventually, snuggling up to each other. Luna were lightly tracing circles on his shoulder, occasionally running her index finger up his neck, lightly going along his jawline. It just brought a soft smile on his lips, as he liked it. She got forced to stop when he turned, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling into her neck, closing his eyes and letting out a content, soft sigh. Seeing him be comfortable, she didn’t bother to disturb anymore, feeling rather tired herself, it being way past midnight. She nuzzled into his forehead, letting out a soft sigh as she closed her eyes, her arms gently resting over his shoulders as she drifted off. Gladion were still somewhat awake when she drifted off to sleep, hearing and feeling her steady breathing, which was quite calming, made him drift off after another few minutes, letting out another content sigh before doing so.


	46. To close for Comfort

Luna woke up the next morning some minutes before the alarm on his side would go off, blinking a couple of times before she stretched herself while laying there, letting out a soft sigh, followed by a yawn. She looked up at the ceiling a little before sitting up, looking over at Gladion, who were still fast asleep. She kept looking at him for a few seconds before leaning over, giving him a light peck on his cheeks before she got out of the bed, silently getting out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. She placed herself in front of the mirror, looking at her ears for a while, poking them and just studying them, as well as glancing over at her tail behind her a few times. She eventually came to the conclusion that she were weird. Luna looked at the bathroom door that were closed and locked, her ears laying down on her head.

«Why…?» she muttered softly to herself.

She looked back at herself in the mirror and shaked her head, clapping her cheeks as to shake get her thoughts out of her mind, getting away from the mirror and into the shower, turning it on as she closed the glass door behind her. She kept her hand under the stream of water until it came to an acceptable temperature for her. As it got to a temperature she could deal with, she got under it, getting herself soaked before starting to wash her hair, as well as her tail. While she were in the shower, the alarm went off, waking him up. He let out a yawn as he reached for the alarm, taking it off before turning over, laying on his back. He ran his hand over his face, pushing his bangs away before sitting up, stretching his back and arms, letting a few joints pop to place. He took a quick look over at his side, seeing that Luna wasn’t there, but had to take another look as something shiny caught his attention. Reaching over and moved away the duvet, he picked up something that looked like a small crystal. It was white, and quite shimmery looking, almost like a white opal. He kept looking at it a little before getting distracted when the door to the bathroom opened up, hearing Luna walk out as silently as possible. He looked at the closed door a little before putting the gem like thing on the nightstand, getting up from the bed, quickly getting on his PJ pants before taking the item on hand and walking out, thinking on asking Luna what it was. Luna had gotten into some of his sweatpants, and tshirt, which were to big for her, making it look like she were drowning in them, which made a faint blush and a soft smile appear on him when he saw it. She didn’t notice that he walked up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist, giving her a light peck on the side of her head. Luna lightly flinched, but the small scare quickly turned to a light giggle.

«Good morning~.» he murmured to her, swaying a little to the sides with her.

She giggled softly. «Good morning to you too.»

Keeping his head beside hers, he showed her the gem he found. «Do you know what this is? It was laying on your side of the bed.» he said.

Luna hummed softly in wonder as he moved his hand up in front of her, opening up his palm and showing it to her. Seeing the crystal in his palm were quite worrying to her, meaning that her spine were fully crystalized, and that her tail were next, but would be a slower progress and most likely, less painful. She took it on hand, looking at it closely, it being the first time she had ever seen a crystal from the progress itself. «I can’t say what it is...never seen one before.» she told him. She wasn’t completely lying, but didn’t want to give him the truth about it either.

He hummed softly, keeping his arms around her waist while keeping an eye on the crystal. «If you say so.» he muttered softly. He took it out of her hand and studied it a little more before shrugging. «I’m going to take a shower.» he added, giving her another light peck on the side of her head before letting her go.

He threw the crystal in the bin as he left for the bathroom, getting a quick shower. As he were gone and locked the bathroom door, she quickly turned around, looking at the base of her tail, not seeing anything that would indicate that the process of her crystallization were showing. She were rather spooked and freaked out that there was a crystal just laying around where she had slept apparently. Hearing the shower get turned on, she snapped out of it, taking a few breaths to calm herself down as she got over to the fridge, opening it and found things to make breakfast with. She found some eggs, some bread and decided to make some Kalos toast, keeping it simple. Gladion finished showering and got into the uniform, buttoning up the shirt as he got out, finding his breakfast already ready. As usual, it were smelling rather delicious as he sat down, looking at her back, seemingly working on some more edibles.

«Ain’t you going to eat anything?» he asked.

Luna just looked over her shoulder, with a piece of toast hanging from her mouth. «Hmm?» she hummed softly, meeting Gladion’s big eyes as he looked at her.

«Never mind...» he muttered, shaking his head. She just gave him something that looked like a smile before she continued with whatever she were doing, lightly munching on the toast she already had.

**\----------**

The day passed, and Gladion walked in the door, being done with the classes for the day. He kicked the shoes off and undid a few buttons on the shirt as he looked around. He didn’t spot Luna anywhere, but he were sure that he left her in the apartment, since she didn’t want to tag along. He closed the door, put the bag down and walked in, looking around a little before he found her laying on the couch, sleeping. Leaning over the edge of the couch, removing some of the hair strands that were laying across her cheek. Feeling quite exhausted from the day itself, which had been quite shitty, getting several surprise tests in the different subjects. In a swift movement, he lightly jumped over the back of the couch and slightly laying on top of her, which woke her up.

«Gladion…?» she muttered softly.

«Move a little bit.» he told her.

She moved a little, giving him some room behind her. He got comfortable, getting his arms around her waist and nuzzled into her shoulders. «Something wrong?» she asked, feeling the grip around her being rather tight.

«Just a tiresome day.» he muttered softly, moving his head to her shoulder.

«Hmm…~» she hummed softly, giving him a light peck on his cheek. «You sure?»

«Very much so.» he murmured, getting soft smile on his lips. «What have you been doing all day though? Not sleeping i suppose?»

«Nothing much really...just some meditation and some regular chores.» she told him.

He hummed softly and closed his eyes, letting out a content sigh, tightening the grip around her and nuzzled into her neck. Luna let out a soft giggle and decided to turn around to face him. Turning around, he moved his arms a little and they both got more comfortable again, Luna placing her hands on his cheeks and leaning in, giving him a soft kiss. Gladion just leaned in for more, keeping the kisses going for a few seconds. It was quite rare for him to, somewhat, engage in cuddles, but whenever he did, she didn’t complain.

«You sure everything is okay?» she repeated herself.

He hummed softly. «I’m sure.» he muttered, leaning in to get another kiss from her. «Did you just want to lay here alone? I can leave if that’s what you want.» he added, giving her a fake pout.

«No, i was wondering.» she replied, gently rubbing her thumb on his cheeks.

«Alright...Then don’t stop.» he added and leaned in.

Continuing to share soft kisses, which were slowly getting deeper, their tongues gently touching and caressing each other. It kept on going for a while, only to get interupted by some knocking on the front door, which made them stop and look rather confused at each other. They didn’t move, but kept themselves silent, just listening to the knocking. Gladion told her to just ignore it in a hushed voice as he leaned in for more kisses, continuing from where they had left off. The knocking continued, and Gladion got increasingly irritated, only to get scared when the one behind the door called for his name.

«Gladion?? Brother!?»

In panic he pushed Luna away, making her fall off the couch and onto the floor. He looked down at her, giving him a glare as she were laying there. «Sorry...» he muttered, giving her an apologetic smile. Luna just hummed softly, but weren’t happy.

She got up from the floor and Gladion got up from the couch, straightening the shirt a little before starting to approach the front door. Luna sat down on the couch again, keeping an eye on the door and him. He opened the door, which was unlocked, which made him feel quite uncomfortable, as Lillie could have just wandered right in.

«Lillie...» he muttered, trying his best to hide the faint blush on his face, as well as the panic.

She smiled sweetly to him, and behind her were both Sol and Hau, waving. «Hi brother! Are you busy or something?» she asked.

_ Yes… _

«No. I just got back from classes...» he muttered and looked at the two behind her. «And why are you two here?» he hissed.

«Great! We are just visiting since mother is away on some business.» Lillie said. «And i asked if they wanted to tag along...the flight is long and i didn’t want to listen to mothers snoring...» she said, muttering the last to him in a hushed voice.

Gladion snorted lightly, followed by a light chuckle. «Right...»

Lillie then just leaned to the side, looking behind him and saw Luna. She waved at her. «Hi there, Luna!»

«Hi, Lillie.~» she cheerfully greeted her back.

The three got into the apartment and sat down in the living room area, starting to talk about whatever that had happened in Alola since he left again last summer, as well as Lillie had dragged with her a gift to Luna. A new set of tops, as well as she didn’t like the fact that she were wearing Gladion’s clothes at this. Luna just talked it away that she just wanted a change of pace and that it was comfortable, as well as that Gladion didn’t mind, since he hadn’t said anything to her about it.

Gladion were sitting down beside her. «It’s not like i don’t mind...It’s more that you won’t listen if i tell you not to.» he said, slightly hissing it to her.

Luna giggled softly. «True~.» Gladion just rolled his eyes, letting out a soft sigh.

Internally, the two were screaming and quite panicked, doing their best to act them normal selves without looking suspicious. Gladion were fighting to keep the blush on his face away, but had a faint one, which Luna had as well. Sol and Hau were talking about how the ‘normal’ things were going on in Alola, beside what were happening at Aether and what they were doing, which was something Lillie filled him in with. It was everything from the weapons that the company had started to make to the new types of ID tags. Sol and Hau weren’t to sure about the subject, but had been getting some information about it, as well as asked to give them a try on their Fae’s before going out to production. Gladion kept on nodding, and just listening to what they had to say. He didn’t have a problem with the ID tags, as they were pretty harmless, but he didn’t like the weapons, finding them incredibly unnecessary. He took a quick glance over at Luna, who were silent and listening to what they all had to say. Lillie did mention that they would most likely be around the region for a while, as Lusamine had several people she needed to talk to, but they were in different cities, which were a relief for Gladion, knowing that they would be away from the city they were in, keeping their privacy, as he felt it was getting invaded when they arrived. Lillie were also very excited to know that Luna, not a Mythical, were in front of her, and couldn’t stop asking about it. Sol and Hau knew about it, since Lillie didn’t manage to keep it to herself.

«You didn’t tell mother about that...did you?» he asked, slightly hissing it to her.

«No, i haven’t. I already know that she’ll be all over her...» she replied, giving Luna a sweet smile. Luna just smiled softly back, feeling a little nervous after what she said.

They talked for a while before Lillie dragged Sol and Hau with her, wanting to take a look at the city before Lusamine called, leaving for the next city. Being on front of the door, they said their goodbyes and left the apartment. As soon as they weren’t heard in the distance of the hallway any longer, Gladion let out a loud sigh of relief, which Luna giggled softly at. Gladion were just standing there after he closed and locked the door behind them, running his hands over his face while giving off a light groan. Luna walked up to him and stopped beside him, leaning up in front of him and gave him a sweet smile.

Gladion just glared down at her. «That was a bit to close for comfort...» he muttered.

«I guess. But it seemed that they didn’t suspect anything...which is good. No?» she said.

He hummed and shaked his head. «I really hope so...» he muttered. He took a quick glance at the door again, making sure that it was locked this time before looking over at her again. «Now...» he started, pausing a little while a smirk grew on his lips. «Where were we?» he added softly.


	47. Festival 'Date'

Weeks passed and the summer festival were starting that evening, with a few vendors and most likely, a lot of people from the city, and around the region. Lillie had told Gladion about it and were quite upset that she wouldn’t be able to be there alongside Sol and Hau, as well as him and Luna. Gladion didn’t really care, and were quite happy that they were on their way back to Alola by then. Luna were excited, but weren’t lasting to long, as it got up on the news that Fae’s weren’t allowed around. She didn’t like the fact that many of the big events didn’t allow Fae’s, as it meant she had to hide her ears and tail just to get in, which wasn’t a problem, but she got tired of it, feeling discriminated. They were sitting around the dinner table, eating when the commercial came onto the TV screen again, which made her puff her cheeks a little in annoyance, despite that they were going to take a look later. 

«Still annoyed about it?» Gladion asked before taking a bite of the food she had made.

«A little...» she lightly hissed, pouting slightly.

«You are getting in. You just need to hide the ears and your tail...» he muttered.

«I know...» she muttered lightly. Gladion chuckled lightly, which made her pout more visible.

They sat there for a while longer, finishing eating and watching a show or two before getting ready to leave. Luna still weren’t happy about it, but it was the only way to get around the ‘no Fae’s allowed’ rule they had sat up at the event. Getting dressed and heading out, she hid her tail and ears, as well as the markings right away before leaving the apartment, not wanting to deal with that at the place, being afraid that she might forget or that people would notice it. The fact that the markings on her face were gone put Gladion off a little, not being used to it and finding it rather fitting and more attractive on her. Gladon couldn’t help himself but to stare at her as she got her coat on, which she noticed when she gave him a quick glance.

«What?» she asked, tilting her head a little as she buttoned up the coat.

«Uuh...N-nothing...» he muttered, averting his gaze quickly, as well as trying to hide the growing blush on his face.

Luna giggled softly. «I know it must be weird seeing me without the markings either...» she muttered, giving him a sweet smile.

«Well...» he started, only to get interupted by her.

«I’m all done...Should we get going then?» she asked him. Gladion just nodded slightly.

Getting out of the complex and out to the streets, they found their way over to the park, where the festival were being held at. It was late spring, but it was still quite chilly at night, as of why they had their coats on. Walking down the streets, she linked her arm with his, and now that she were looking like a human, he didn’t mind, and reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers before putting their hands down in the pocket of his coat again, keeping their hands out of the chilly summer air. As they got closer to the park, the music that were playing were getting louder, and Luna were increasingly getting nervous, thinking that she would be figured out and get them both in trouble.

«We’ll be fine.» he told her in a hushed voice as they walked in.

«You say so...» she replied back softly.

Walking in and past the guards that were standing outside, making sure that Fae’s weren’t bypassing didn’t look at her, but kept their eyes around the streets, seeing if there was anyone with a Fae looking suspicious. Once being inside and a little away from them, she let out a sigh of relief. Gladion let out a light chuckle as he heard it, which made her give him a light growl. Keeping their hands intertwined and in his pocket, they were walking around, looking at what the festival had to offer at the first day, as it had only been open for a few hours. Kids were running around laughing, and a lot of chatter were heard around the park, as well as parents shouting for their kids to stay close and whatnot. It was quite nostalgic for Gladion, as the many festivals he had been at in Alola were more or less the same. Loud, obnoxious and a shit ton of people, which was things he didn’t like. A quick glance over at Luna, which made him realize that she could be quite the loud and obnoxious one, but she were the only one that he actually could deal with. Walking around, looking at the vendors that were there, and eventually deciding to get something to snack on while looking around some more. There was everything from food to souvenirs from the different regions in the many vendors, but nothing that really caught their attention, other than some shopkeepers that were overly enthusiastic about selling their merchandise. Walking around and getting a little out of the festival area, continuing around the park, it just went up from him.

_ Is this a date…? _

Shaking his head a little, he were sure it wasn’t, but he couldn’t get the thought out of his mind now that it was there. Looking at her again, who were quite busy looking around. He was dating this female, and he had never taken her out on anything, other that a few things that she wanted to take a look at, which this festival was one of them. Her being a Fable, a  _ Mythical Fable _ , were rather a taboo creature to date, as of why they had to keep it hidden. But the more he looked at her, the fact that her tail, ears and markings were gone, she were as human as she could get, and they were in public, looking like a couple. It was rather tiresome to keep it hidden, but it was the only way. He secretly started to hope that she was the so called  _ Wild Card _ . A Fable or Fae that could turn into a human, but that would mean that she had to give up her magic, which was something he were sure of she didn’t want to. Luna noticed that he got lost in though and nudged him slightly.

«What’s on your mind?» she asked, looking at him with her grey eyes, that were reflecting the light from around them.

«Nothing.» he quickly replied, looking away from her gaze.

«I can tell there is something on your mind, Gladion. There is no use trying to talk it away.» she said, smiling softly at him.

He sighed softly. «It’s nothing.» he replied, giving her a soft smile back, only for her to raise an eyebrow at him. «Really. It’s nothing.»

Luna shrugged. «I know there is something on your mind, but if you don’t want to share, that’s fine.» she said, giving his hand a light squeeze. «I know i’m a Fable and all...but that doesn't mean you can’t talk to me.» she added, her voice sounding a little upset and disappointed.

Gladion let out a soft sigh and stopped, pulling her close to him. He placed his free hand on her waist, leaning down so their foreheads were touching. He were rather nervous and couldn’t find a reason as of why he was feeling that way, he had known her for a while after all. There was just a lot of rather unknown feelings roaming around within, and many of them were quite new as well. They had wandered quite a bit around the park and were outside of the main area of the festival, but the bright lights from the are made the park slightly lighted up by it, but only barely. Their eyes met, gazing into each other for a few seconds, which seemed like hours. Gladion found himself getting lost in her the more he stared. He had, somewhat, planned what to say, but forgot whatever he had scripted. Instead, he leaned in, giving her a passionate and tender kiss. After it, their eyes met again for a brief second, their foreheads touching again, and Luna giving him a soft smile. Letting go of her waist, he placed his hand on her cheek and leaned in again, giving her another tender kiss. Standing there for a little while, just enjoying the light silence and the soft, chilly breeze going around them, their foreheads touching, faint blushed on both of their cheeks, as well as soft smiled were exchanged.

Deciding that they had seen what there was to offer at the festival, they started to head back home. Not in any rush, they walked around the place a little more before heading towards the main area, just taking in the sight of the few decorations that were lighting up the path around the park. Walking around and ending up at the main area again, they started to navigate through the masses. Going through the main area of the festival, there had gotten more people around, filling the place up and making it hard to navigate to get out, but they took their time and eventually got to the entrance, walking out and starting to head down the street, their hands still intertwined and linked with each other. While walking down the streets, there were more and more people passing them. Several groups talking about the festival and that they couldn't wait to see what it had to offer this year of activities in the later days. Luna and Gladion were more or less done with the event, but would most likely take a second look when it was close to end, as there wouldn’t be a lot of people wandering around then, and it would be easier to look around without bumping into others. Getting to the complex, they got in, took the elevator up and got into the apartment, getting their shoes and coats off and decided to just head to bed, it being late and he had classes the next day. Luna walked into the bathroom, getting herself ready for bed while Gladion walked over to the fridge, getting himself something to drink as he waited for her to get done. While she were in there, getting herself into her sleepwear, she kept looking at herself in the mirror and decided to keep her tail and ears hidden for the time being, as well as the markings. It was one thing less to worry about, as well as she thought it might make him uncomfortable, considering that humans didn’t have anything of that sorts. Getting into her sleepwear, which was just a tshirt she had stolen from Gladion, she brushed through her hair quickly before unlocking the door and walking out, taking her clothes with her, folded neatly as she walked into the bedroom and placed them on the chair beside her designated side.

Gladion heard the door get unlocked and finished sipping on the soda he had found, placing the empty glass in the sink and turned off the light before getting over to the bathroom, getting himself ready for the night. Getting into the bedroom, he saw Luna sitting in the bed, but were slightly surprised not to see her ears, nor tail being visible. He just stood there, staring at her for a little as he closed the door behind him, which made her look over at him, catching him staring at her.

«Is it...weird?» she muttered softly, placing her hands on top of her head, where her ears would normally have been.

Gladion walked over and got under the duvet, shaking his head. «No, it’s not weird. Just a little surprised that you keep them hidden...I’m rather used to your tail and ears being around all the time.» Sitting beside her, he reached for her chin, moving her head towards him while he leaned in, giving her a soft kiss.

«You sure it’s not weird…?» she asked right before she felt his lips on hers.

He hummed softly. «I’m sure.»

Looking over at the nightstand on his side, he groaned lightly, muttering that he forgot his phone, which was what he used as an alarm and got up from the bed again. Luna giggled softly as she watched him leave the room in a hurry to find his phone. She could hear him growl a little in the distance, seemingly having a hard time finding it, but it didn’t take long before he were back, setting the alarm on and closed the door, getting into the bed again. He sat on the edge a little, making sure that the alarm was on before putting the phone on the nightstand and got under the duvet. He laid down and Luna scooted closer, snuggling up to him and laying her head on his chest and her arm gently laying across his abdomen. Gladion wrapped his arm around her and were gently tracing circles on her shoulder. Luna slowly drifted off to sleep, moving a little more to her side, facing him, before she fully fell asleep. Gladion were awake for a little longer, just generally thinking about the evening. They weren’t on a date, but he ended up labeling it as such, considering that they were going out, and he had, somewhat, asked her to go when the flyer hit his face and it making him think about her possibly wanting to take a look. He gave her a light peck on her forehead, letting out a content sigh as he closed his eyes, moving a little to get a little more comfortable before he drifted off.


	48. 'Baking'

The classes next day were cut short because of the festival that had started, making most of his fellow classmates were quite distracted by it, planning to hang out and take a look whenever they were off or possibly could sneak over. It wasn’t until the evening that most of the activities were going to happen, but there was some people that wanted to take a look and plan their route for the evening. Gladion were just happy that he didn’t get any homework, and that there wasn’t any surprise test waiting for him as the day started, but he had gotten a few questions as of where Luna were, since she wasn’t tagging along anymore to classes. He just replied that she were at home and didn’t want to tag along, and he didn’t want to force her, which some of his fellow classmates didn’t believe in, thinking that she were either sold off or dead, considering it had been a while since they had seen her. He just let them think whatever they wanted, not wanting to argue or anything about it. Luna were in the apartment as per usual, practicing baking for once, as she had seen it on TV for a while, and wanted to give it a go. She didn’t know what she were doing, but kept the  _ practice makes perfect _ mentality. She had gotten up a recipe online, keeping it up on the tablet while she were working on making some buns, keeping it simple and easy. So she thought at least. The dough were either to dry or to wet, which irritated her like nothing, growling to herself. She eventually got something going and let it be with that, cleaning up the counters and the appliances she had used, putting them in to the dishwasher and put it on. After that, she left for the bathroom, cleaning her hands and her face before walking out again, putting the TV on. She found a random music channel and let it stay at it. The more the music continued, the more she felt the urge to move along, which she ended up doing. Luna placed herself in the middle of the floor in the living room, moving along with the rhythm of the music, having fun while doing so.

She got so into it that she didn’t hear the front door open and Gladion walking in. He saw her and silently got off his jacket and shoes, putting his bag down and closed the door as silently as possible before approaching her. She had her back towards him, not noticing or hearing him walk up to her. He waited a little, finding the perfect moment when the beat shifted. As it did, he gently grabbed her hand, and twirled her around once before pulling her close, resting his head on her shoulder. She flinched and let out a light shriek, but let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was Gladion.

«Oh my gosh...» she muttered, feeling her heart race.

«Having fun without me?» he muttered softly, swaying gently from side to side.

«You weren’t home and i wanted something to do while i’m waiting.» she replied, giggling softly.

«Waiting? What are you waiting for?» he asked, looking at the TV screen, thinking that there had to be something on a channel she were going to watch.

«I’m baking buns. So the dough have to rise a little...» she muttered, giving him a sheepish smile.

«Oh.» he muttered softly, nodding slightly. «Should i be ready to leave if you start a fire?» he asked, smirking while teasing her.

Luna puffed her cheeks. «So much for trusting me...» she muttered.

Gladion chuckled softly while still holding around her, not letting her escape. She were lightly growling, pouting a little. «I’m sure you won’t.» he added.

«You better be sure of it...» she hissed.

After moving around with the rhythm of the music a little, he let go of her, as she said that she would need to make the buns and put them in the oven to finish them. Gladion let to change out of the uniform and into something casual before joining her again, watching her while making them. She were very concentrated on the task, which he found hilarious and couldn’t help himself but to crack a smile. She took a quick glance over at him and decided to flick some flour at his face, which made him sneeze.

He gave her a glare, his face having a patch of flour on it. «Why did you do that?»

Luna gave him a smug smirk. «Don’t know what you are talking about.» she replied and and finished a tray, making sure it was full and put it into the oven. «Bless you by the way.» she added softly.

Gladion scoffed and shaked his head, running his hand over his face, trying to get some of the flour off, only to make it worse. He growled lightly to himself and looked over at her, his eyes going straight to her rear. He got some flour on his hands, making sure his palms were covered before approaching her from behind. She closed the oven door, and were about to turn around, but yelped when Gladion came from behind and slid his hands up her sides and up to her breasts, groping them roughly.

«Good thing you are wearing black. Makes it easier to see~.» he murmured and removed his hands, leaving handprints of flour on her.

Luna looked down at her chest, seeing the handprints he had made on her. She glared over at him as he walked off, chuckling and clapping his hands, getting most of the flour off. She puffed her cheeks and decided to play along, getting over to the counter, putting her hand down in flour and approached him. «Gladion?» she called for him.

He were sure that he were going to see her pouty face, and turned around. «Hmm?» he hummed softly. «Oof..!» He clearly didn’t see what was coming when he suddenly hunched down to her level, meeting her smug expression.

«Revenge is sweet, isn’t it?» she murmured back. She retracted her hand and he looked down at himself, seeing a white handprint on his crotch. He looked up at her slowly, seeing her just standing there with her hands on her hips, as well as her smug expression. «You started it.»

«Not denying that...» he muttered, his voice a bit lighter than usual. Luna giggled and turned around, walking over to the kitchen area again. Looking at her rear gently swaying from side to side, he licked his lips, eyeing her down. «To bad this place if going to burn down now...» he murmured softly.

Luna got over to the counter, cleaning up a little and deciding to wait until the ones in the oven were done before she made a new batch. Gladion dusted off his hands as good as possible on his pants, walking up behind her as he placed his hands on her hips, pulling her towards him, her rear pressed up against his crotch. Before she could do anything, he grabbed her wrists and put them on the counter. Luna were rather unimpressed but got surprised when he placed her hands on the counter, telling her to keep them there.

«What are you doing?» she asked, being quite surprised and curious of why she were told to keep her hands there in front of her.

«I just found some better  _ buns _ .» he murmured. «But i need to make sure they are prepared right first.»

«Huh...?» she muttered softly, not sure what he meant.

He squatted down behind her and dragged down her jeans with a single swift movement, alongside with her underwear. Before she could react properly, he had spread her cheeks and dived right in, gently, yet a little roughly, going over her folds with his tongue. She slightly flinched and let out a light, surprised gasp. She kept on standing there, as there was no way to escape. Her breath getting heavy as he kept going, his tongue going over her sweetspots, making small, soft moans come from her. The more he continued, the more she were leaning over the counter, muttering his name between her heavy breaths. Her muttering his name surprised him, as she had never done that before, he didn’t stop her, getting pretty turned on by it. After a minute more, he could hear her getting close, so he stopped and pulled away, licking his lips, heading her breathe heavily. Getting up on his feet, he undid and pulled his jeans down a little, revealing his hard member. He put his hands on her hips, rubbing his length against her lips.

He took a quick look over at the oven, seeing that the buns in there were getting close to done. «Soon done~.» he murmured.

He didn’t hesitate as he guided himself into her, starting to thrust steadily. A light gasp came from her, only for it to turn into soft moans as he started to move into her, keeping a steady pace, feeling that her inner walls were starting to spasming around his length. He kept a hand of his on her hip, the other placed beside her on the counter as he leaned over her, speeding up slightly, thrusting roughly into her. She started to mutter his name again between the moans that were coming from her, arching her back slightly. He were still hunched over her, but as he arched her back, making it possible for him to plant a light kiss on her shoulder. Roughly going into her a little longer, her moan cracked and her inner walls tighten around him, closing her eyes tightly as she reached the end of her run. Feeling the tightness around him, it sent him over the edge as well, letting out a soft groan, his heavy breath cracking as he got to the end of his run. He kept her steady and close to him, feeling her body shivering in front of him and hearing her breath being heavy. Seeing her tense down, he planted another soft kiss on her shoulder, staying in that position a little. Her legs were rather shaky from standing up like that for a while, only to hear him let out a light sigh.

«Fuck...» he muttered.

«What…?» she muttered between her heavy breathing.

«Didn’t have any...» he started, taking a deep breath.

«Any what…?» she asked.

«...Any protection on...» he muttered, a blush creeping on his cheeks.

Luna’s eyes got big, and she looked over her shoulder at him, meeting his beet red face. She pursed her lips a little at him. «Well that’s what you are getting then...» she hissed.

«What…?» he muttered, looking at her with big eyes, thinking that she meant she would see if she actually got pregnant.

«You are getting me that pill, and no, you can’t escape it.» she replied.

He let out a sigh of relief. «Oh my god...i got scared there for a second...»

«If you don’t get it, i might as well scare you more.» she added. He just nodded to her, humming softly in response.

As they stood there a little, the alarm for the oven went off, telling them both that the buns in there were most likely done. They both looked over at the appliance, only for him to look at her from the corner of his eyes. «I can at least tell that these...» he started, groping her rear roughly. «...buns are quite good.» Luna sighed and hung her head.

He pulled out and pulled up his jeans, adjusting his manhood before taking a few steps away from her. She got up, her legs feeling quite shaking still as she pulled her underwear and pants up. She got the oven mittens on and got the buns out, placing them on top of the stove. Gladion looked over her shoulder, muttering softly that they look decent. She just sent him a glare and pointed at the front door. He got the message and held his hands up in defeat, muttering that he were on his way out and would get it. Getting over to the front door, he got his shoes on and a hoodie, grabbing the keys and his wallet before grabbing the door handle.

«You better get a couple.» she added before he was about to walk out.

«A couple…?» he asked, looking at her, dusting off his pants as much as possible, making sure that it wasn’t as noticeable that she had grabbed his crotch at some point before he left.

«Oh, you know….» she started, giving him a mischievous smirk. «Just in case.~» she added, wriggling her hips. He became as red as he could get and just hurried out of the apartment, hearing Luna laugh in the distance.

Getting out of the building and over to a pharmacy, he hesitated when getting the pill for her, and couldn’t hide the blush on his face when he got up to the cashier. The cashier didn’t look twice and just minded their own business as he put the box in a small bag. Gladion paid, took the bag and hurried out, stuffing the bag deep into the pocket of his hoodie, muttering to himself that he were an idiot. Hurrying back to the apartment, Luna were still around the kitchen corner, and finishing up. She had a batch ready to get into the oven after the ones already in were done. Locking the door to the apartment, he got out of his shoes, and took the hoodie off. He placed the keys and his wallet on the table beside the door and took the bag with him over to Luna, almost shoving it into her face.

«I’m never doing that again...» he muttered.

She took the bag and just looked at him unamused. She gave him a sweet smile, wriggling her eyebrows at him. «So you say.~» He just let out a soft groan of embarrassment, which made her giggle softly. She took the pill and he kept watching her until he were sure she did, letting out a sigh of relief, which she heard and just shaked her head at, rolling her eyes at him.

She were done baking after a while, and when the last bach were in the oven, she cleaned up the counter and the appliances that she had used, as well as taking some of the fresh buns, putting on some butter, ham and cheese. Gladion were sitting at the dinner table, looking through some news on his phone as she placed a plate beside him with a few on. He took a quick look at them as she made her way around, leaning over him and wrapping her arms around his neck, rubbing her cheek against his.

«I hope they taste  _ just _ as good.~» she murmured.

His cheeks heated up again, and didn’t even bother to fight the blush that appeared. She gave him a light kiss on his cheek before she took one and left him to sit there alone. He stared for quite a while at the buns on the plate, but eventually took one and started to eat one, the blush just as visible still.


	49. Summer Sortings

The early spring months passed and summer vacation had recently started, and Gladion were on his way home after the last day of classes. The warm summer days being as hot as they were, and Luna had planned an outing for when he got back. He were sure it was a visit to the beach, knowing that she loved just sitting there, feeling the sea breeze. He wasn’t too fond of it, but he didn’t mind either, as long as it made her smile. Walking down the street towards the complex, there was a lot going on with the battle dome, considering the many posters, commercials and flyers getting passed around. Form the looks of it, there was going to be a big tournament this summer, and it was going to be massive, filling the city and most likely, the entire region up with participants from the other regions. It made him wonder if Sol would take the trip, knowing that he loved tournaments like these, but had no plans on telling him, nor ask him as he probably would take that as an invitation to get there. Something he surely didn’t want. Luna being in the apartment, just getting things ready, as well as she had made more buns while he were out, letting them cool down before getting them ready for later. She left for the bedroom and got changed into her black bikini, and took one of his shirts, putting it over it, as for not to feel completely naked. 

Gladion got into the apartment as she walked into the room, greeting him with a sweet smile. He closed the door in a hurry while just staring her up and down. «Why are you naked!?»

She scoffed at him. «I’m not.» she replied and lifted the shirt up, revealing the bikini underneath. «See?»

«Dangerous practices you are doing...» he muttered, being beet red as he shaked his head.

Luna just rolled her eyes and let the shirt go, it covering her just enough. «Whatever… But you should get yourself ready. I want to leave soon.»

«Right...To the beach i guess? Considering that you are wearing your bikini already...» he said, watching her walk off, his eyes fixated on the movements of her hips.

«Yes.~» she replied cheerfully. Gladion hummed softly and nodded, getting out of the shoes and walked off over to the bedroom, getting changed.

He got out of the uniform and put it away for the summer, not going to need it until the next semester is starting again in late August. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to talk her out of going to the beach, he put his swim trunks on, as well as a shirt before walking out, finding her preparing some food to take with them, putting them in boxes. Gladion walked up, watching her prepare it. She did prepare a decent amount, and put the rest away into the fridge and freezer. Before she could put them away, he grabbed one, starting to eat it. Luna didn’t care that he took one, knowing that he probably would anyway when he got back.

«Leaving soon i guess?» he asked, seeing that she were finishing up.

«That was the plan, but i don’t mind wait a little if you don’t feel like leaving yet.» she replied, looking up at him.

«That’s your decision. You were the one planning this after all.» he said, followed with a soft sigh.

«Well...yeah...? But i don’t want to force you either if you don’t want to.» she added, tilting her head a little.

He smiled softly at her. «And that i appreciate, but you don’t really force at all.»

«But you don’t really like going to the beach...» she muttered softly.

«Ehh...Well...I just don’t like that many people around.» he muttered, looking to the side in embarrassment. He sighed softly. «Rather weird don’t you think...being born into a social status and have to deal with people since day one...despite hating being around a crowd and stuff...»

«Don’t really think that’s weird at all...» she replied, putting the rest of the food into a box and closed it. «I have been alone most of my life...so i can’t really say much about it.»

He looked up at her, seeing that she were looking rather down by it. «Sorry that i brought that up...didn’t really think about what you had been through...»

Luna shaked her head, and gave him a reassuring smile. «That’s fine.» she said and leaned over the counter towards him. «I’m at least not alone anymore.~»

What she said struck him more than he would admit, as well as seeing her smile made it sting a little in his chest. He leaned over more, lifting her chin up while gently pulling her towards him, making their lips meet. He gave her a light, tender kiss. She smiled softly at him, followed by a soft giggle. Sharing a few more soft kisses, they decided to head out, seeing if they could find a place at the beach there were quite hidden. Luna packed the boxes with food into a bag before walking off, finding a pair of shorts and out them on. On the way over to Gladion again, who were waiting, she grabbed two towels from the bathroom. She put the towels in the bag and got some slippers on, and Gladion grabbed the bag and they left the place, finding their way over to the beach. Getting out of the building and starting to head down the street, she reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers while walking. He didn’t hesitate as they intertwined their fingers, she was looking fully like a human, which were a good thing, as well as it for once didn’t need to be a secret while being out, and he were sure that she wasn’t going to pull out her ears and tail anytime soon either. On the way over, they stopped at a store to get something to drink, as she had forgotten to pack that along earlier. Getting to the beach, there was quite a lot of people already, but it overbearing. They walked around for a little, scouting to find a place that were somewhat secluded from everyone else, and eventually found a place close to the rocks at the edge of the beach. Placing their towels and settling down, Luna got off the shorts first before she sat down beside him, getting comfortable while looking around, watching the people passing and out at the ocean, looking at the people having fun in the water. Gladion were laying down, his hands behind his head for support and comfort. 

Luna put her hair up in a ponytail while looking around, listening to all the chatter that were happening around them. Gladion were trying to snooze off, as it was quite relaxing just laying there, but it wasn’t the same if she wasn’t doing the same, which made him occasionally look up at her. She were quite lost in thought, and it made her look rather sad, which was something he didn’t like. He reached out for her, placing his hand on her lower back and gently rubbing, which made her flinch and look down at him, tensing up a little. Luna let out a sigh of relief and relaxed when she saw it was him.

Gladion chuckled softly. «Did i spook you?»

«Gosh...I was so lost in thought that i forgot my surroundings...» she muttered softly.

He laughed softly. «Sorry about that. You okay thought? You look worried.» he asked, continuing to gently rub her back.

«I’m fine. Sorry if i’m making you worried.» she replied.

Gladion stopped rubbing her back and sat up, humming softly. «You sure about that? Like...Really sure?» he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

«As sure as i can get.~» she muttered softly back at him, giving him a soft smile.

Gladion hummed and nodded. «Alright.» he muttered softly.

Looking around for a little more, there were more people arriving and settling down around at the beach, and going for a quick swim. Gladion took the shirt off and laid down again, using the shirt as a pillow. She looked down at him and her eyes ended up at the massive scar across his torso. She knew he had it, but never really thought about it, nor ever asked about it, and she had slowly gotten quite curious about it. Leaning over to him, she gently started to trace it, which made him slightly flinch and look up at her.

«How did you get this one?» she asked.

«By being an idiot and not careful.» he replied, frowning slightly when thinking back on it. Luna just hummed softly, tilting her head at him. Gladion sat up and took a hold of her hand, holding it gently. «Running away and got it while messing with people i shouldn’t really have been messing with.» he added, shrugging.

«These ‘Skull’ people you have mentioned?» she asked.

«Yeah...» he muttered. «Not to proud of that...but it was a way to escape at the time.» he added, looking rather embarrassed to the side.

«Well...What did you do to get it?» she asked him. She didn’t think that he would give her an answer to it, but to her surprise, he did.

«Was tasked to watch some Fae’s, and the they didn’t like it..and ended up attacking me.» he replied to her. He shrugged. «Hard life lesson to learn...» he muttered.

«Is that why you don’t like Fae’s and Fable’s in general?» she then asked, looking at the scar of his. Her expression changed slightly, going from being curious to looking a little upset.

He were still holding her hand, and as her expression changed, he gave her a light peck on the top of her hand. «You are a totally different story though.»

«I highly doubt that, since you did hate me for a while.» she said, pursing her lips a little. He just narrowed his eyes at her, not sure what to really reply after that since he didn’t like her being around at first. «You don’t have to say anything about it. You humans are weird after all.» she added, giving him a playful wink and a soft smile.

«You got me really worried there for a second...» he muttered. He pulled her hand behind him, pulling her towards him with a swift movement. She yelped lightly in surprise, only to feel his lips softly on hers. She returned the kiss, and gave him a soft, sweet smile.

They spent the rest of the day on the beach, just having a relaxing time and enjoying themselves. Gladion ended up using her lap as a pillow, finding the shirt he were using not enough, and her tail wasn’t around, so he couldn’t use that either. Luna were eating some of the food she had made earlier, gently running her hand through his hair while he were snoozing off, being comfortable. They had met a few familiar faces from his class throughout the day, and they were quite surprised seeing Luna, and everyone asked about his Fae, wondering where it was. Gladion just replied that it was home, not wanting to be outside when it was this hot, avoiding most of the questions. They also pointed out that Luna were utterly similar to his Fae, only for him to tell them that that was a coincidence, which Luna nodded at, going on with what he were telling. They did settle down with the explanation they got, as there was Fae’s that were known to take appearances from other people they had seen and just assumed it was a case of that. It was quite annoying with the questions, and made them both quite uncomfortable, but since she didn’t have her ears and tail out, it was easier to avoid any other questions. After a while, they were finally alone again, both of them letting out a soft sigh of relief. The sun had started to go down the horizon, which made him get up from the spot they were sitting on, as well as helping her up on her feet. Seeing that there wasn’t many people around anymore, they took a stroll down at the waterfront, taking in the sight of the place. Luna kept her feet in the water, finding it rather soothing and nice. While walking around, hands in each others, he made sure that she were as close as possible, and were holding her hand tightly in his. Just looking at her from the corner of his eyes, he could tell that he was head over heels for her, but there was still feelings that were rather new to him and he still needed time to sort them out properly, and were hoping that she were still around when College ended, hopefully be able to sort out whatever he had and would be able to tell her. From the looks of her, she would most likely feel the same way, but there was a year left, and time could only tell what would happen in the future.


	50. Panic

A few days passed and the weather had gotten quite chilly again, and Luna managed to catch the flu, getting sick. She had never really been sick like this before, but blamed the ‘human’ in her, as she had been in a humanoid form for a while, which was rather unusual for her. The first she got it, she hurried out to the bathroom and threw up, which made Gladion panic, since it was happening in the morning. She wasn’t in the mood to do anything, and definitely didn’t want to deal with him in a panicked state, him thinking that she actually were pregnant and reading the signs of the flu as symptoms of that. She had placed herself in the chair in front of the TV, wrapped up in a blanket while just glaring over at Gladion.

«Luna...» he muttered, sounding quite panicked. «Oh my god...i’m so sorry...»

«Why are you apologizing?!» she hissed, not getting why he was panicking at first.

Gladion looked up from the floor and over at her. «But...oh my god...» he kept muttering, not sure what to do with himself. His hands on his face, shivering from the panic.

«I just caught the flu...» she muttered, hissing it lightly.

«Are you sure about that?!» he slightly shouted at her in panic.

Luna just looked at him and shaked her head in disbelief. «Yes, i’m sure about that...» she muttered. «Good thing to know that you ain’t ready for that anyway...» she added, looking rather disappointed at his reaction.

«This is not funny...» he hissed.

«And i’m not joking...» she said, groaning lightly at him. «Please...why don’t you believe me?» she groaned. Gladion got quiet, but kept staring at her with narrow eyes, trying to read her expression and catch her lying. «Gladion...» she snarled. «Stop looking at me like that...»

She looked away from him, with a pout on her face, she buried herself more into the blanket. Gladion kept staring at her for a while, and were slowly stopping to panic when he saw that she were drifting off to sleep while sitting in the chair. Once she were sleeping, he walked over to her and placed his hand on her forehead. She had a fever, but he couldn’t help but to panic at frist, as it happened so suddenly. But after thinking it through a little more, he calmed down, as things just couldn’t go on that quickly, even for a Fable like her. Watching her sleep a little, he carried her over to the couch, so she could be more comfortable than sitting up straight in the chair. While she were sleeping, he did some online researching to just make sure nothing was happening, and that she were only sick with the flu. He didn’t find anything, which wasn’t helping him calming down at all. Her being sick with a human illness were rare, but were just a side effect of her crystalizing, meaning that it had started on her tail, and were going to be visible for everyone around her if she didn’t hide the tail, or use her magic to mask it somehow. Even Luna didn’t know it was a side effect to it, but at least it wasn’t giving her any pain like when it started.

After a while, Gladion had calmed down and gotten to terms with that she were just sick, but if she happens to be, he were sure that he, deep within, didn’t mind. Luna kept sleeping for a while, which gave him time to calm down and get out of the apartment, getting some medicine for her and some other things from the store. The weather were quite dark, despite the sun shining through the skies from time to time, looking like it would start raining anytime soon while he were out. Once he got inside of the building again, it started to rain, heavily. He let out a soft sigh of relief, feeling lucky that he made it back under some roof in time for that to start. While he were gone, Luna had woken up and were sitting, looking rather dumbfounded around herself, not remembering when she ended up on the couch or even how. She did come to the conclusion that Gladion got her over there after she fell asleep. She kept sitting there, just looking around the place while keeping the blanket tightly around her as he got back.

Seeing that she were awake and sitting up, he got over to her after kicking his shoes off and closing the door behind him. «You feeling any better?» he asked. She just looked up at him. «I’ll take that as a no.» he muttered.

«Can you run a bath for me please?» she asked as he were about to walk away.

«I might.» he replied, getting the stuff he got out of the bag he was carrying.

«Please…~» she whined at him, looking at him with big puppy eyes.

«Christ woman...give me a second.» he lightly hissed. He got the stuff out and onto the counter. Luna were just smiling sweetly while watching him. He got a glass of water and some of the medicine for the fever and handed it to her. «Take this.» he said.

«Pills? What for?» she asked, looking at them as they were laying in her palm.

«For the fever.» he muttered and gave her the glass before walking off towards the bathroom.

She watched him go into the bathroom and turn the water on, which made her smile softly, knowing that he were going to fill the tub up for her. She took the pills and gulped down half of the water, making a grimace from the after taste those pills gave her. «Bleh...»

She put the glass onto the table and kept sitting there, just watching it for a little before a light sigh escaped her. Gladion were still in the bathroom, making sure the water were the right temperature for her, as well as making it a little more  _ relaxing _ for her. At least the surroundings more pleasing, being sure that she probably would nitpick on it. Letting it run and fill up the tub, he walked out and found her at the kitchen area, making herself something to eat. He walked up to her and stopped beside her.

«Ain’t you sick?» he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

«Well...according to you, i’m pregnant, and i need to eat for two then.» she replied, smiling to him.

He frowned at her. «Not funny...» he hissed.

«No? I find it hilarious! Ha ha ha!» she said, mocking him about the panic he had earlier.

«Do you want that bath, or do you not?» he hissed at her.

She sent him a glare. «Don’t you dare...» she hissed back.

«Make me.» he replied, leaning into her. Luna just puffed her cheeks, growling a little. Seeing her puffed out cheeks and hearing her light growl made him chuckle.

She continued to make something simple to eat and started to much on it on her way over to the couch again. Gladion cleaned up after her, but not before he made himself something and joined her on the couch. As he sat down, she scooted closer to him, and leaned against him. She did ask if the bath were done soon, to which he nodded and told her to wait a little longer, as it wouldn’t get filled up that quickly. Luna nodded and hummed softly, taking another bite of the food. Finishing eating, Gladion got up from the couch and got into the bathroom, seeing that the tub were now full. He found a towel and put it on the shelf beside the tub before walking out and over to her. Luna were close to nod off, but he made her flinch awake when he put his hands on her shoulders, gently squeezing.

«Bath’s ready if you are awake enough to get in.»

She looked up at him and smiled sweetly at him. «Thank you.~» 

She got up and left the blanket on the couch, slightly shivering as she walked off to the bathroom, closing the door. She stripped off and put the clothes in the laundry basket, getting into the tub and the hot water. She let out a light, comfortable sigh as she got in, letting herself sink under the water till her shoulders were covered. Sitting there, feeling the heat from the water clearing her mind. Sitting there, enjoying herself and slowly feeling better, Gladion decided to peek inside, as it had been a while already. Luna noticed that the door opened up, feeling the light draft coming in.

«Close the door if you are coming in.» she muttered lightly.

A faint blush appeared on his cheeks, since he didn’t think that she would notice him make sure that she haven’t drowned. He got inside and closed it, walking over to her and squatted down beside the tub, looking at her. «Feeling better?»

Luna sat up a little more and leaned over the edge of the tub a little. «Very much so. Thank you.~» she replied, giving him a sweet smile.

Smiling softly back at her. «That’s good to know at least. Sorry for going full panic mode earlier...»

«To be expected. I’m a Fable after all...and this...» she said, pointing at both of them. «...Is considered taboo.»

«Yeah...» he muttered, nodding lightly. «Well...as long as you don’t tell anyone that you are a Fable, or pull out your fox ears and tail, it shouldn’t be a problem.» he added.

«Ooh.~? Exploiting the _system_? I can do that.~» she murmured. Her arm hanging loosely over the edge of the tub, slightly touching the floor, she looked up at him. «Kiss me.»

Gladion just looked surprised at her, but that surprise quickly went away when he saw the soft smile on her lips. «I don’t really want to catch that grub of yours...» he muttered softly, but had a soft smirk on his lips.

«Kiss. Me.» she repeated herself.

He hummed softly. «You do know humans have this saying...right?»

«That if a boy and a girl kiss, the girl would get pregnant? Yeah, i have heard it all over the place throughout the years.» she said, tilting her head. «But wouldn’t that mean that mean that we should have had a horde of kids already?» she added, raising her eyebrows at him.

«Well...True. You think you are ready for that?» he asked.

«Well ain’t you funny. You were the one panicking earlier.» she replied, followed by a soft chuckle. She moved her arms up and folded them in front of her, resting them on the edge of the tub and resting her head on top. «Now...Where’s my kiss?» she repeated herself, giving him a fake pout.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, but leaned in, giving her a soft kiss. She smiled softly after it, keeping the fake pout on her face. «That didn’t do it?» he asked, seeing her pout.

«No.~» she muttered softly. «You are free to join me in here though.~» she added, her pout turning into a little mischievous smile.

«And get more of your grubs? Not sure if i want to.» he replied with a light chuckle.

«Aww...» she pouted, giving him her puppy eyes.

«Better get healthy first, and i’ll consider it.» he murmured, giving her another soft kiss. «Anything you want for dinner?»

«Take out again?» she asked.

«Most likely.» he replied, shrugging. She started to hum softly, and were about to say something when he interrupted her. «No Kantonese or Jothonese food...It’s getting stale.»

She whined softly. «Fine...Something from this region then. Not sure what they have to offer though...»

«Shouldn’t be to hard figure that out.» he replied to her, nodding lightly.

«Surprise me then. I’ll just...drown here a little more.»

«Alright. I’ll find something of interest then.» he said and got up on his feet. «And don’t drown.» he added before walking out.

Luna just giggled softly and sat back in the tub, finding some bath scrub and soap to clean herself up a little before finishing. Once she finished rinsing herself from the soap and the scrub, she got up from the tub, unplugged it and let the water drain while she took the towel and dried herself up as much as possible. Feeling comfortable in the bathroom, since it was feeling warm and comfortable, she shivered lightly from the thought of going out and into the bedroom to just find new clothes to get on. With a sigh, she got out and hurried around the door and into the bedroom, quickly finding something and got herself dressed. Seeing one of the hoodies Gladion would usually wear, she took it and got it on, feeling better and much warmer with it on. It was quite oversized considering her small frame, but she liked it. It made her feel comfortable. Getting a little warmer in the clothes, she walked out, and found Gladion sitting at the dinner table, looking at the computer screen. She walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning in to look what he were looking at.

«What are you doing?» she asked.

«Just figuring out what i just ordered.» he replied and found something food related to what he had ordered. «That i guess?» he muttered, them both tilting their head at the picture of the dish.

«Huh...Dosen’t look to bad at least.» she muttered.

«Looks decent enough.» he added. «Just gotta wait until have to go and pick it up.»

«Oh? Not delivering?»

«Not this place. And it’s close by, so it’s not that bad.» he replied, nodding lightly.

«Okay.» she muttered. She gave him a light kiss on his cheek. «Thank you. I’m feeling better now.»

«Good to know.»

He closed the laptop and grabbed her arms as he got up from the chair, carrying her on his back over to the couch. She squeaked lightly, but were quickly giggling softly as she saw the couch getting closer. He put her down and threw the blanket on her, telling her that she should get herself wrapped up, which she did, nesting into the corner and keeping the blanket around her tightly while he left to get the food, but he didn’t leave before he made sure that she were comfortable.


	51. Visitor

Waiting for him to get back with the food, she reached for the TV remote and got the TV on, starting to skip through channels. Knowing that he would be back soon, she were still starting to feel a little lonely. Skipping the channels, she stopped at a random one, which happened to have some news on. She didn't’ really catch much what was being said, but it was something about Kalos and some guy named Augustine Sycamore. Apparently he was the expert about Fae’s and some Fables, but were getting interviewed about something else. He was talking highly about the champion of their region, and that they were gone to attend a tournament in a different region, being away for a while, but their previous champion, Diantha, were still around to make sure that the current one kept it’s title while being gone. The talk about the tournament made Luna curious, thinking if Gladion were even interested in it and were wanting to attend. She flinched when the front door opened up, and Gladion walked in with a bag in his hands. Luna looked over her shoulder, and gave him a sweet smile when their eyes met.

«Welcome home again.~» she said softly.

He closed the door and locked it, getting out of his shoes and walked over to her. «Thanks.» he muttered softly, putting the bag on the table in front of them. «Should probably wait until it have cooled down a little before you start to dig in.» he said and sat down beside her.

Luna hummed softly and leaned against him. «If you say so.» she muttered softly.

Gladion looked up at the screen. «What are you watching?»

«News? I don’t know...» she replied, followed by a soft sigh. «Something about a tournament at least.»

«Tournament…» he hummed softly.

While watching the news for a while, and starting to eat, she asked him if he were interested in tournaments like those that were shown on the news, which he said declined, telling her that those events were just for people to show off and most likely find new Fae’s and sell them off if they did bad in the battles. He did mention that the tournament in this region were going to last the entire summer, but he had no intentions to get over to the battle dome, not even to just take a look. Luna nodded slightly while eating, somewhat understanding were he was coming from with it.

«It’s mostly because that you will tag along, and most likely end up in a battle...and i don’t want.» he added.

She gave a soft chuckle. «That’s fine. If you do want to check it out, i’ll just stay here and keep myself occupied with something.» she said, not wanting to hold him back if he really wanted to take a look.

He shaked his head. «Nha...I have seen my fair share of those battles, and they ain’t that interesting.»

«Not even mine?» she added.

Glaring over at her, he just let out a soft sigh. «Your battles are... rather interesting...But i don’t want you fight...not even for something silly as a dumb title...Not even for me.» he said, shaking his head.

Luna giggled softly and nodded. «Alright. I do at least know that some humans want something as fancy as that ‘champion’ title at least. From those news, it seemed that the current champion from Kalos is attending one.»

He hummed softly. «Probably the one in this region, which have recently started. The streets are full of people from the other regions...» he muttered.

«Scared that you’ll meet some of your friends from Alola at the battle dome?» she asked, noticing that he were quite wary when talking about it.

«Not scared...but i don’t want see any of them...and they are not friends, ust annoying acquaintances. They are friends of Lillie though.» he replied, taking a bit of the food. Luna just hummed softly, nodding.

Finished eating, and putting the leftovers away, they got comfortable on the couch as usual. Gladion were laying down, and Luna had placed herself on top of him, her head resting on his chest and snoozing. He were watching some of the battles on the TV, just keeping himself informed about it and see if Sol actually were in the region, but haven’t seen him as of yet. While she were snoozing on top of him, still wrapped in the blanket, he kept gently running his hand up and down her back. Watching the tournament until it ended, Luna had woken up a few battled before it started to end, watching with him in silence and without moving, being comfortable while he were gently rubbing her back. He didn’t notice that she were awake, but once the live view were over, he moved a little to reach for the remote, and Luna moved a little as well, sitting up slightly so he could reach it. Once he got it and both laying down again, he started to skip channels.

«Did i wake you up when i moved?» he asked while skipping through the channels.

«No. I have been awake for a while. Managed to catch a few of the battles of the tournament before you reached for the remote.» she replied, letting out a content sigh.

**\----------**

Evening came creeping slowly as the sun started to settle in the horizon, making the sky get a light orange color. Laying in the same position for a few hours, Gladion were rather tired and feeling somewhat sore. He didn’t complain, as he lowkey liked it, feeling her weight on him and that she couldn’t run off even if she tried to. While watching whatever the channels had to offer, he came to think about the summer vacation, as it had recently started, and didn’t really have any plans on going anywhere, but while watching the shows, he started to like the idea of going somewhere else, that was not in this region, or Alola for that matter.

«Why don’t we go somewhere?» he muttered, thinking that he did it silently so she wouldn’t hear it.

«Go where?» she asked.

«Uuh...I don’t know...somewhere that’s not here in this region, or Alola?» he replied.

She hummed softly and looked up at him. «Really?» she exclaimed, looking up at him with big eyes.

«Yeah…? Rather boring to just...sit around, right?» he replied, sounding quite unsure.

She sat up in a hurry, squealing while wiggling her body. «Yes, please!» she exclaimed loudly, clapping her hands in excitement, giggling lightly.

Gladion sat up, just looking at her being all excited. «But first, you need to get better. Can’t go anywhere with you being sick.»

«Working on it already.» she muttered, pursing her lips.

He chuckled softly. «Good to know.» he said and reached up for her, removing some of the hair strands that were in front of her face. His hand lingering on her cheek, softly rubbing his thumb against her skin.

«Kiss me.» she demanded again, having a smug smirk on her lips.

«And get more of your grubs?» he said, shaking his head. «Don’t think so...»

«You have already gotten them, so a little more wouldn’t hurt, no?» she replied, leaning her head into his hand.

«You dog...» he muttered, and leaned in towards her.

«Oh, you know it.~» she replied back, followed by a soft giggle.

Giving her a soft kiss, he figured that he would just keep on going. Luna didn’t mind as he kept giving her more kisses, sharing quite a few before some loud commercial started on the TV, making them both flinch and stop, looking at the TV screen with big eyes. Exchanging looks, Luna snorted and started to giggle, while Gladion facepalmed and groaned, hanging his head.

«Well... _ That _ killed the mood...» he hissed.

«Oh?~» she murmured and leaned over to him. «We can always get the mood going again.~»

«True...» he muttered softly, starting to lean into her again, only for his phone to now start ringing, vibrating across the table. «You got to be kidding me...» he hissed and looked at his phone that were laying on the table.

«Well ain’t you popular...» she muttered, sitting back, sighing softly.

He reached for it and took a look at the screen, seeing that it was from Sol. «Sol...Right...» he muttered and looked at Luna.

«Just take it.» she said, nodding at him.

He hummed and took it. «Sol…» he muttered.

«Hey! You at your place?» he asked, sounding quite out of breath.

«Yeah...Why asking?» he asked, letting out a sigh.

«Can i crash at your place?»

«Huh…?» he muttered, looking rather surprised. «What…? Are you in this region? This city even?»

«Well yeah. Because of the tournament. Though you already knew that i would get here...but the hotel i was going to stay as did some double booking...and i can’t get my room until tomorrow at some point...So...» he said and paused for a good minute.«May i crash at your place for the night?»

«That’s fine.» Luna replied, which she could hear Sol gasp in the background.

«You got a girl on visit?! Oh my god...Lillie is going to love this.» he exclaimed. «Alright. Your girl said yes, so i’ll be getting over soon! Keep the door open!» he added and hung up before Gladion could say anything.

Gladion looked over at Luna, and were looking quite horrified from the news that Sol would be staying the night. Luna reassured him that she didn’t mind, as well as she were sure that he had never seen her humanoid form, and if he ever had, it would have been for a brief second, so he most likely wouldn’t remember. Gladion nodded, but told her, in a serious voice, that she had to keep her ears and tail hidden.

«Come on. Trust me more than that...» she said, crossing her arms and pouting a little.

He sighed and hung his head. «I do trust you...That’s not the problem...oh god...»

«Then what is the problem?» she asked. «Scared that he’ll figure out that i’m a Fable?»

Gladion just looked at her, not saying a word, which made its own point. He was scared that it would get out, one way or another. As much as he did care for her and liked her, the fright and thought of someone taking her away from him were massive. It was something he didn’t want, and would avoid as much as possible. «More or less...It’s quite horrible what they do to the Fae’s and Fable’s if they figure out that there’s been something going on with them and a human.»

«Like what? I’m not familiar on what they really do...» she asked, tilting her head.

«Well...one is that...they will take you away, far away, and most likely use you for breeding purposes. The other is plain up death.» he replied.

_ I’m already dying though… _

«Why breeding…?» she asked, muttering it softly.

«You’re a Fable, a wild Fae. It means new blood to the already broken system...ugh...» he muttered, shivering at the thought of her being used for that, which was something he didn’t want to think about, being quite disgusted from it.

«Only two options…? Either breeding or death…?» she muttered, looking down.

«I’m sorry...It’s literally why i keep telling you not to show them off, and if possible, hide whatever you can from Fae’s in general. Some Fae’s can sense a lot, despite how well hidden it is.» he replied, taking her hand in his, looking at it closely. «Just...be careful...I don’t know what i would be doing if you weren’t around...»

«I’ll hide as much as possible. I can promise you that...But there are some thing i can’t really hide either.» she said, giving his hand a light squeeze.

«Like what?» he asked, looking up at her and met her eyes.

«The fact that my eyes slit up at times. I can’t hide that...I can try, but it’s rather hard if i’m agitated, interested or something...It does depend on what’s happening at least.» she replied.

«Like now?» he asked, seeing that her eyes had gotten into it’s slitted look.

Luna closed her eyes tightly. «Yeah...» she muttered and hung her head. «I’m sorry...i can’t help it...»

She opened her eyes, and they were back to normal. «I haven’t seen it happen that often, so i can at least say that i’m not to worried about that...but it’s good to know.» he said, and leaned in, placing a soft kiss on her lips. She hummed softly and nodded, giving him a soft kiss back.

After a while, Sol knocked on the door and Gladion let him in. Sol couldn’t remember seeing Luna before, and greeted her politely, to which she greeted him back. He got comfortable in the chair beside the couch, and noticed that Gladion were sitting rather close to her, which was a surprise in itself for Sol, as it was rather unusual to be so ‘open’ about either being with someone or like someone. He didn’t say anything about it, knowing already that Gladion would say nothing to him, and avoid the questions as usual. They kept talking for a while, and Luna decided to head to bed first, being sick and still needed her rest, she left, leaving the two to catch up a little more. Sol talked about the tournament and that he were invited because he was the first champion of Alola, and were asked to participate in a few upcoming ones in the next few days, as well as groaning and complaining about the hotel overbooking and forgetting about him arriving.

«Well...I don’t really have an extra bed, so the couch would have to do. And the blankets.» he told him.

«That’s fine. I just need a place to sleep for the night. I’ll be gone as quickly the hotel gives me a call.» he said, chuckling lightly. «So...Luna lives here too?» he asked.

«She does.» he replied, nodding. «Why asking? Need more stuff to blackmail me on?» he hissed at him.

«Nha, i’m not doing that. That’s more Lillie’s style whenever she needs something only you can give her.» he said, laughing softly. «She and Hau have started dating by the way.»

«She and the clown…?» he muttered. He let out a soft sigh and shaked his head. «Whatever...As long as she’s happy.» he added.

«Talking like a true brother. I’m proud.» he said, laughing. It made Gladion crack a smile.

«Can’t say the same about you.» he replied, chuckling.

«Pfft...I’m an only child.» he said, waving his hand at him. «I do wish i had a sibling at times...but...Hau does that pretty well.» he said, nodding. «You know...Brother from another mother.~» he added, grinning.

«I guess. Hau does count as hundred people though.» Gladion muttered.

«Not denying that.» Sol said, snickering.

They kept talking a little more before Gladion got up from the couch, telling him that he’s heading to bed. Sol nodded and said that same, considering that he had been on a plane almost the whole day, and had almost just arrived when he called him a little earlier. As much as Gladion didn’t like them, Sol were the least annoying of the bunch from Alola, after Lillie at least, since she were his younger sister after all. He told Sol were the bathroom were before leaving the living room, letting him settle in for the night as he shut the lights off and made sure the front door were locked before he got into the bedroom. Luna were sleeping and curled up, holding the duvet tightly in her hands, despite her back being exposed. He stripped down and got under the duvet, scooting close to her and pulled the duvet over them both as he got comfortable. As he scooted closer to her, she woke up when he wrapped his arm around her, giving her a light peck on her shoulder while he slipped his arm under her pillow. She didn’t say anything, but got comfortable again and drifted off quickly. It didn’t take to long either before Gladion drifted off, despite feeling a bit uncomfortable that Sol were staying the night, and being nervous that he, or his Fae would notice that Luna were a Fable.


	52. More Human

Sol woke up early the next day, at least early for him, having slept on the couch at Gladion’s place. With a light groan, he stretched and sat up, looking around while rubbing his eyes and face. Taking a quick look at the time on his phone, he laid down again, just trying to wake up more. Laying there, and looking up at the ceiling, he called for his Fae, which were roaming freely, but came as quickly as possible when called for, it being a Neko type Fae. It arrived within a few minutes, having the ability to teleport from short distances, but could hear it’s name being called from miles away.

«You called, Sol, nya~?» it muttered as it appears in front of him.

«Nothing important.» he replied in a husky voice. «Just making sure that you actually could hear me, as per usual.» he added, followed by a light chuckle.

«Ooh...Who’s place is this though? Someone you know, nya~?» it asked, sitting down beside him on the floor.

«Just my old pal, Gladion.» he replied, nodding.

«Oh. Where is he now, nya~?» it asked, looking over its shoulder at him.

«Better be quiet, as he and his girl is sleeping.» he replied, putting his finger in front of his lips as a sign for it to be silent. It nodded and leaned against the couch, looking around the place a little more, it’s tail lightly twitching with interest.

While they were awake and silently talking, Gladion and Luna were asleep for a few more hours. Gladion woke up by Sol’s Fae getting a bit to loud for a split second, making him slightly sit up in the bed, looking at the door while blinking a couple of times. He took a quick look at the time, seeing that i was rather late in the morning, and since it was pretty silent around there, he could hear Sol scold his Fae, which made him roll his eyes. Debating with himself if he should lay down some more and snuggle up to Luna, or if he just should get up, making sure that Sol actually would leave soon. Taking a quick look at her, seeing that she were still sleeping peacefully and didn’t want to wake her up, so he decided to get out of bed instead, trying to get Sol to leave before she woke up. Getting out of the bed, he stretched his back, making a few joints get into place again before grabbing a pair of sweatpants and a shirt, putting it on and walked out, closing the door silently. Running his hand through his bangs, he walked out to the living room, seeing Sol lecturing his Fae.

«What the hell are you up to…?» he muttered, crossing his arms.

Sol looked over his shoulder. «Oh, Gladion. Good morning to you too. And Feye here were loud...did he wake you up?»

«If you mean the loud noise from a few minutes ago, then yes.» he muttered, walking over to the kitchen area.

He found a glass and poured some tap water in it, gulping it down in a hurry. Sol apologized for his Fae to be loud, despite him telling it to be silent. Gladion lightly hissed at him to keep it quiet, as Luna were still sleeping, which Sol nodded at, telling his Fae to keep it quiet. It nodded and moved over to Sol’s side, sitting down beside him on the floor. Gladion got over to the sitting area and sat down in the chair as Sol started to get going on some small talk, or at least trying. Sol’s Fae decided to look around, and teleported off, which made Gladion a little suspicious, asking Sol were his Fae might have gone off to. Sol just replied, that it was just going to look around, as long as it came back when he called for its name. Gladion nodded, and didn’t think more about it. Chatting a little for a while, Sol got a call from the hotel that he finally could get his room, and decided to leave. As Sol got into his shoes and were about to leave, Luna walked out, giving him a sweet smile and a small wave. Sol waved back and said goodbye, and wishing them a good day as he walked out the door. Gladion gave him a nod as he left, looking over at Luna as she walked up to him.

«How long have you two been awake?» she asked softly.

«A while.» he muttered. «Slept well? And are you feeling better?»

Luna hummed softly and nodded. «Yes, and i’m all better. I guess it was just something that were passing in a hurry. You are not feeling sick, right?»

«Good, and i’m fine. Didn’t catch anything from you.» he replied.

Luna nodded and hummed softly as she started pass him, heading over to the kitchen area. «I guess you haven’t eaten yet?»

«No...Didn’t want to start on anything in case Sol wanted something as well.» he muttered, looking over at the front door.

«Pfft. Rude.» she lightly hissed at him.

«Heh...He can get food on his own.» he said and walked over to her. He got up behind her and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her slightly closer to him. «And i don’t really want to share your cooking.» he added, giving her a light peck on her temple.

She giggled softly. «Selfish.»

«Oh...You know it.» he replied, followed by a soft chuckle. «Anyway...Vacation...Where?» he asked.

«Oh...I don’t know. Haven’t really been anywhere else than Kanto, Jotho, Kalos and Alola. And of course this region.» she said, crossing her arms while thinking. «I don’t really care were we go...but...someplace warm like Alola i guess?»

«Someplace warm like Alola? How come?» he asked.

«I just like the warm weather.» she said, wriggling her body, which made him just wrap his arms around her waist. «Surprise me if you can.» she added with a sweet smile.

«Okay…? I’ll see if i find something interesting at least.» he replied, resting his head on her shoulder, their cheeks lightly touching.

She gave him a light peck, and with that he let go of her. She started on making something to eat, while he found the laptop and turned it on, thinking on finding a region that were fitting of what he told her, even though it wasn’t a lot to go by. She made something simple for them both, and plated it, placing the place beside him as she sat down. She scooted closer to him, sitting beside him and looked at the screen as well while she started to eat the breakfast she had made. Gladion slowly started to eat while looking, asking her occasionally of what she liked and what she didn’t like of the placed he showed her. Luna replied to the questions, and giving her opinions on things, but still told him that she wanted it as a surprise, not wanting to know to much about it. Sitting there, looking through the different sites, there was a site he didn’t show her, thinking that that place might be the right one. Once she moved away, when they both were done eating, he closed the laptop, planning to look more later.

**\----------**

Been out and about, getting a bag for her before traveling, and some new clothes that she figured that she wanted, looking fully human, she wanted to at least dress properly like one. It wasn’t to much, and he didn’t mind since she knew what she wanted, despite Lillie, who didn’t know what she was looking for most of the time, just running around the shelves like a headless chicken. While being out at the nearby mall, they did bump into Sol and his Fae after a while of looking around. He had been at the battle dome and gotten a good look at some of the battles, and were baffled that they were rather different than from the ones in Alola. Sitting at a cafè, having something to eat and drink while listening to him talk about the difference were rather interesting.

«It’s just really weird on how this region uses the different strategies like that...Like...they combine them somehow? That’s not even allowed in Alola, and trust me...People have tried.» Sol muttered, looking over at his Fae that were sipping on a drink.

Gladion hummed and nodded. «That’s rather...interesting. It should be the same rules for every battle dome in the regions, not different ones for each region, nor tournament.» he replied.

«That’s what i’m thinking too! Haven’t met the champ of this region yet, but i have heard that he has a Fable.» Sol said, nodding a little as he took a sip of the soda he had.

Gladion and Luna exchanged looks. «Fable...?» Gladion muttered.

«Is that even...legal?» Luna asked, looking at Gladion.

«Shouldn’t be, but i know there are special cases where it’s allowed.» he replied to her.

Sol nodded. «Yeah. One is that the Fable is doing it of its own free will. Which is rather rare, but the other is if the ID tag can’t be taken off. Some Fables apparently have such a strong magic that the ID tag just disappears on them.» he said.

«Disappears? But...wouldn’t that make the Fable a free one again then?» she asked.

«The tag is still there, just hidden for the public eye. No one knows why it’s like that, and it’s still being researched on.» Gladion added, taking a bite of the sandwich.

«Oh...» Luna muttered, looking down at the cup with the hot tea in it, looking rather conflicted about what she heard.

Gladion put his hand on her knee, giving her a light squeeze to reassure her that it wouldn’t be the case for her. «Don’t worry about it.» he muttered softly to her. Luna hummed softly and nodded.

Sol nodded as well. «It’s weird with the ID tag things...But as far as i know, it won’t happen with the tags that Aether is making.»

«How come? If the Fable have strong magic, it shouldn’t make any difference.» Gladion replied, looking at him.

«Well...i have done some digging into that, Mr. Edge.» he replied, giving him a smug grin.

«Tch...» Gladion scoffed. «Surprised you even though about searching for anything...» he lightly hissed at him. Luna giggled softly.

«Yeah yeah...Whatever. Anyway...» he started, taking a sip of the soda. «For what i have figured out, it seems like the ID tags from the Wellington company have this defect that makes them disappear into the Fae, or in this case, Fable.»

«Yeah...that name is quite familiar. Tch...» Gladion hissed. «Literally stealing Aether tech and tries to pass it off as their own.»

«Familiar to you maybe...i don’t really know much about the company other than they do the same as Aether.» he said, shrugging. «Why so salty though?»

«The heir of that company were rather...» he started, looking over at Luna from the corner of his eyes. «Trying to get  _ to close _ ...» he finished.

Sol noticed that he gave Luna a brief look and nodded. «Ah, gotcha.» he replied, followed by a nervous chuckle. He had noticed that they were dragging a suitcase with them and got quite curious about it. «Why the suitcase? If i may ask.~»

«She needed a new one.» Gladion replied flatly.

«Ah, going somewhere?» he then asked.

«Just out of the region. Not sure for how long.» Luna replied before Gladion could say anything.

«Yeah...Going away for a while. It’s vacation after all.» Gladion added quickly.

«Ah, i see. Just a regular vacation or...?» he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at them.

«And what are you indicating...» Gladion snarled.

«Oh, nothing.» Sol replied, having a smug grin across his face. Gladion growled at him, fighting the growing blush on his face.

Talking for a while longer, Sol left as there was a battle that he were interested to watch. He finished the food he had gotten and drank up the soda and said his goodbye, leaving them be. They sat around for a while longer before continuing to look around and get a few more things that were either needed in the apartment, or rather, what Luna found lacking in the apartment. Luna had already made the apartment quite ‘homey’, which was something Gladion likes, getting back to a place that actually felt like a home. He kept forgetting that she was a Fable most of the time these days, mostly because she didn’t show her ears or tail, and the markings on her face were gone, and of course, were acting very much like a human. Even more so as the days passed, which she knew, but didn’t think to much about it.

_ I am going to disappear anyway after all. _


	53. Vacation for Two

Gladion had eventually booked a flight over to a different region, and found a hotel that he thought that she would like. He kept it a secret from her, as she had asked him to do, so when he announced it for her that they had to start packing, she were looking quite surprised at him. He repeated to her that she had to start packing, or else she would be left behind when the flight would leave that same evening. She dropped whatever she was doing and found the bag she got a few days prior, both of them starting to pack lightly and getting the essentials. While packing, he heard her occasionally squeal of excitement and looked over at her, seeing her having a big smile across her lips. Getting everything and ready to leave, she made sure that whatever of food that could be put in the freezer, she put it in there, and let the rest stay at its place, knowing that it couldn’t be saved, no matter what she did with it. Getting a jacket on, and some shoes, they left, locking the apartment and getting down to the lobby. Gladion muttered that he had ordered a taxi, which should be waiting outside, but knowing the traffic at this time of the day, it should be there. Luna chuckled softly, saying that it’s fine, and it would most likely be there, which is was when they got out of the building. Getting their bags into the trunk, and into the taxi, they were on their way to the airport.

Luna were really excited, to the point that she almost couldn’t sit still in the seat. «You really excited for this?» he asked, looking at her sheepishly.

«Of course. Going to a new region is always fun.~» she said, placing her hands on her cheeks and let out another excited squeal. Gladion sighed lightly, only to flinch when she grabbed his hand, looking at her with big eyes. «And of course i’m not alone for once.» she said softly, giving him a sweet smile.

Gladion gave her a warm smile back, and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. «Yeah. Same.» he replied softly, taking her hand in his and intertwining their fingers.

Looking out of the windows on the taxi until they got to the airport. Getting out of the car and get their luggage were the easy part, now they had to get through the security system, which had a specific one for Fae’s. It clearly made Luna nervous, despite looking as human as possible. Gladion reassured her that she would be fine and that they wouldn’t find anything while she walked through. He had used his authority as an Aether and gotten them a private flight, so when they had passed the security, it was just to get over to the gate and board the flight. They got through the security without any problems, despite the security guards looking a little suspicious over at Luna, since she was so nervous, and it showed. One the way to the gate, she muttered that she were sorry, and that she almost ruined the whole trip.

«You got through right?» he asked, which Luna nodded at. «Which means that it’s fine. They probably looked at you because you were nervous looking.»

«It showed…?» she muttered.

«Very much so, but it’s fine. You got through without any trouble.» he added. Luna just slightly nodded, humming softly as a reply to him.

On the way to the gate, Gladion decided to stop and get something to eat before the flight, as he couldn’t handle the airplane food, getting very nauseous from it. Luna got something as well, just in case she didn’t like what was served, despite it being made on board and usually being fresh. It took a while before they found the gate, but got there and boarded, handing the bags to the staff so they could put it away. Gladion did mention to her that the flight would take a while, even longer than going to Alola, which she said was fine.

«It’s our vacation, so i don’t mind.» she replied, giving him a sweet smile.

It was all still very new, going somewhere, somewhat, alone where Lillie or anyone else from Alola were tagging along. Despite it being new, and a little bit on the scary side, it was exciting. Getting into the plane and get into a seat, they buckled up and started to wait until everything were ready for take off. Sitting around for a few minutes, the plane were ready and the pilots announced that they were ready to go. The main pilot announced that the flight would be taking a short pit stop in a region on the way over for some check up and a refuel, which was something Gladion already anticipated would happen and had let Luna know about it. She didn’t mind and told him that it was anticipated, since they were going to fly for a while. The plane got ready, the staff onboard sat down in their seats and as soon as they did, the plane started to move away from the gate, moving towards the runaway. After waiting for a while, they eventually got into the air, and were on their way to the region.

**\----------**

The flight took a day and a half, not counting the small stop they had in a region on the way over. Getting to the new region, it was past midnight, so they got their luggage and found a taxi, getting over to a hotel for the night, getting some sleep before taking the next day to get over to the hotel he had booked for them, which happened to be at the other side of the region, something he didn’t predict. Getting a room and settling in for the night, it felt pretty nice to finally have a bed to sleep in rather than the seats on the flight. Luna placed her bag to the side, and dropped her weight onto the bed once they were in the room, letting out a content sigh, followed by a yawn. Gladion sat down on the edge, looking over his shoulder at her.

«Tired?» he asked.

«Ain’t you?» she replied, looking at him with a sleepy expression.

«I would be lying if i said i wasn’t.» he replied to her, shrugging lightly. She hummed softly and sat up, letting out another soft sigh.

They both got out of their clothes and under the covers, getting as comfortable as possible. Luna scooted close to him, putting her head on his shoulder and her arm over his torso. Gladion wrapped his arm around her, and gently ran his hand in soft circles on her arm. The flight being long, it didn’t take to long before they both drifted off to sleep from exhaustion from the flight. The night passed quickly, and they woke up around noon the next day, laying around for a while before getting up and getting ready to move to the hotel that they were suppose to stay at. Luna had a quick shower while Gladion called for another taxi. There was a slight language barrier, but he managed to get one within the next hour, which were a little irritating. Luna walked out of the bathroom and found him looking annoyed at the phone.

«What is it?» she asked, tilting her head while drying her hair.

«Taxi won’t be around for another hour.» he grumbled.

Luna smiled and giggled softly, tossing the towel over his head, obscuring his view on his phone. «That shouldn’t matter. We can kill that time by getting something to eat.»

He let out a light huff, and pulled the towel up from his face, looking up at her, seeing her sweet smile and soft expression. Dragging the towel off his head and placing it beside him, he took a firm grip on her hips, pulling her towards him. «True.» he muttered softly, lightly nuzzling into her lower torso.

She placed her hands on his cheeks, and made him look up at her as she leaned over and down to him, giving him a soft kiss. «Can’t wait to see what you have planned.» she said softly.

Gladion just chuckled lightly. «I do hope you like the place.»

Getting their stuff, they got down to the lobby and into the restaurant there, getting something to eat while waiting for the taxi to arrive. Sitting there, taking their time, the taxi eventually arrived, and they finished eating and got going. Getting the bags into the taxi and getting in, they were on their way. A long ride through the region, which was fine, as they could see a lot while going through the big city and some of the smaller towns and villages. While sitting there, Luna snoozed off, using his shoulder as a pillow. Gladion were checking the route and several other things to do around the hotel, just making sure that he knew what was going on, and if Luna were interested in any of them. Some sightseeing were going to happen anyway, but they had to look and the different routes and what was available first. Putting the phone away, he averted his gaze out of the window, looking at the landscape passing, which were resembling Alola quite a lot. It was another tropical region, so he didn’t really expect much.

The drive over were lasting a few hours, but they ended up at the hotel around the early evening. Getting out of the car, getting their bags and walking into the lobby, Gladion went to get the key for the place that they were going to stay at. In the meanwhile, Luna were looking around the lobby, which was massive, and there was quite the view from the windows there, which caught her attention. As he were waiting for the reception to get the key, he looked over at her, seeing her looking out at the horizon. The lady behind the desk found the key, registered it as taken and handed it to him. After he got it on hand, he walked over to her, saying that he got the ‘room’, and that they would be heading there now.

«Oh? Were are we staying? Main building? Or in one of the buildings around the place?» she asked, having seen the place around a little, noticing the several buildings around the place.

«You’ll see.» he replied, having a smug smirk on his lips. Luna just looked at him, tilting her head curiously and with a slight suspicion.

He nodded towards the front door, gesturing that they should get going over to where they were going to stay while being in the region. Taking their bags and starting to walk out of the main building, and down one of the paths, following the waterfront for a while until Luna saw something that looked like houses in the distance. She stopped and just kept looking, being utterly confused as she shifted her gaze, looking at Gladion who had stopped a few feet in front of her.

«What?» he asked.

«Where are we actually going? What are those houses over there?» she asked, pointing past him.

He hummed and looked over his shoulder. «One of the places we are going to stay at?» he replied, raising an eyebrow at her, followed by a smug grin. He walked back over to her and gently took her hand in his. «Come on. I’m sure you’ll like the place.»

Luna were confused, but she had asked him to keep it as a surprise. Heading over to the place, it was several private bungalows scattered around, and Gladion had found the most private around the area, and used his Aether name to get it, genuinely wanting her to have a good time. Walking over, with their luggage on hand, they eventually got over. The bungalow being placed in the water on the beach, and being quite hidden from the others, making it quite private for them. Luna’s eyes got wide and looked like they were sparkling when she saw the bungalow, letting out a soft squeal of excitement. Walking down the dock towards the bungalow, Gladion unlocked the door and let her walk in first, looking around a little. It was a one room bungalow, but despite it being a one room one, it was big, having everything they needed on one flat, with furniture dividing the place into sections. Walking in, putting the luggage to the side, Luna started to walk around, taking in the sight. Luna stopped in the middle of the place, and Gladion walked up to her.

«So...Your verdict is?» he asked.

«I love it.~» she exclaimed, giving him a sweet smile. «But why a bungalow and not at the main hotel?» Gladion placed his hand over his mouth and cheeks, averting his gaze from her as a blush crept onto his face. Luna saw and got a smug smirk on her lips. «Oh.~» she lightly murmured. She walked up front, facing him and grabbed his collar, slowly backing off towards the bed in the corner of the place. «Let’s test out the bed then.~» she murmured, giving him a seductive look.

Gladion’s blush became more visible, but he didn’t try to hide it anymore as he walked with her, reaching for her hips and pulled her towards him. «That sounds like a plan.~» he murmured back.


	54. Vacation day 1

The first night in the bungalow were quite the _hectic_ one, but it was something to start with that they both didn’t mind. Sleeping to past noon, and waking up by the seagulls screeching above the place, waking them up. Gladion sat up and ran his hand over his face, rubbing his eyes, followed by a yawn. He blinked a couple of times, getting used to the bright daylight before he looked down at Luna. She had pulled the covers over her head, giving off a light sigh before she stretched her body, her arms going up above her head while doing so. Gladion moved closer to her and leaned over her slightly, pulling away the covers to reveal her face, only to get greeted with a tired looking expression, which made him chuckle softly.

«Good morning to you.» he muttered softly in a husky voice to her.

She let out a light groan. «Good morning.~» she muttered back, followed by a soft smile.

He leaned down, giving her a light peck on her lips. «Slept well?» he asked.

«Pretty much.» she replied, and returned the kiss. «New place. New bed. I’ll get used to it.~» she murmured, giving him a light, playful wink.

Gladion chuckled lightly. «Hopefully you do.» he replied softly, lightly running his hands down her arms to her hands, intertwining their fingers.

He gave her another light peck on her neck before putting his weight onto her, resting his head beside hers, letting out a soft, content sigh as he closed his eyes again. Luna turned her head towards him, nuzzling him softly, which just made him pucker his lips, giving her another soft kiss. She gave a soft giggle, which made him smile softly. They kept laying around for a while longer before getting up. Luna got up first, heading towards the back were there was a bathroom, getting herself in the tub. Gladion were laying around until she were out of his sight, just eyeing her down as she walked off, licking his lips. Once she got into the bathroom and turned the water on in the shower. He sat up in the bed and stretched his back again and reached for the jeans, putting them on while getting over to the kitchen corner, finding a glass and tapping water into it and lightly sipping on it while looking around the place. It looked smaller on the pictures, but at least Luna liked it, looking quite excited when they got there, despite the slight confusion at first. Placing the glass on the counter, he got over to the bathroom himself, seeing that Luna were still in the shower. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, just looking at her. She found it rather silent as she looked over her shoulder, and noticed Gladion standing there, looking her down. She flinched, putting her hand on her chest.

«Oh my gosh...Should have thought that i was the better one at sneaking...» she muttered.

Gladion chuckled. «I have been learning.» he replied.

She scoffed. «Yeah, right.» she said, followed by a light chuckle. She turned her attention to herself again, continuing to wash herself. «So...what’s the plans for today?» she asked.

Gladion hummed. «Me staring at you?» he replied, being sarcastic.

Luna blushed and shaked her head. «You can do that at any time...» she muttered timidly.

Gladion heard that she didn’t take the sarcasm and just smiled, silently laughing. «Already know, and doing that. But back to what you asked...» he started, pausing a little. «We can figure out something. Shouldn’t be too hard to find something to do.» Luna nodded slightly, fighting the blush on her cheeks.

**\----------**

Been out in the nearby city for a while, looking around and slightly getting to know the area, they were sitting at a cafè, having something to eat and drink. Sitting there and looking through some pamphlets and brochures for things to do, they found a few things that were looking and sounding interesting, but weren’t going to happen until a few more days. For the time being, until some of the things they wanted to do and take a look at were going on, they decided to just relax and enjoy the nearby city. There wasn’t a lot of tourists around, which were rather odd, considering it was summer and many places and regions had summer vacation going on. While sitting around, Luna had noticed that a lot of the local Fae’s there had been giving her some strange looks, despite her masking her aura that would give it away that she were a Fable. Trying her best not to think about it, she enjoyed her time regardless of the looks she got. After a while of sitting at the cafè, and finished eating and drinking what they had, they got up and continued on, walking through some of the streets and just, somewhat, following after some of the other tourists that were around, making sure that they, themselves, didn’t get lost or into any trouble while looking around. Walking through some of the smaller streets, taking a look at the smaller shops and vendors that were there, several pigeons scattered all of a sudden, and to Gladion’s demise, one of them decided to aim at him. Luna snorted at his expression after the bird had taken a dump on his shoulder, as well as some of it ended up on his bangs. Luna started to giggle, trying her best to contain the laughter. Gladion just glared at her, and hissed for her to shut up.

After that, they decided to get back to the bungalow, for him to get a shower and get into another shirt, and wash the other one. Getting over to the resort, and over to the bungalow, Gladion went straight to the bathroom, getting into the shower. One the way back, they had stopped for some groceries, so while he were in the shower, Luna put those away. After she put it away, she grabbed a soda can and opened it, taking a sip while she found her way out to the terrace, just looking out at the horizon, letting the gentle breeze tickle her skin lightly. Gladion walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and one on his head, drying his hair. He got over to his bag, searching for his swim trunks. Going through his clothes, he found them and quickly got them on before looking around, finding Luna standing outside and looking at the horizon. Drying his hair a little more as he walked over to her, looking in the direction were she were looking, not really seeing anything interesting.

«What are you looking at?» he asked, standing a little behind her.

«Just at the waves. There isn’t really anything more to look at.» she replied, looking over her shoulder at him, giving him a soft smile. «Got it all off?» she asked.

Gladion frowned. «I do hope so...» he grumbled. «Fucking birds...» he added, hissing it. Luna giggled, which made him glare at her. «It’s not funny...» he hissed at her.

As he hissed at her again, it made her laugh lightly, as his expression from earlier came to mind, which she found hilarious, and something she had never seen on him ever. In an attempt to make her stop laughing, he took the soda can out of her hands, and gulped down a good portion of it, but as quickly it was taken from her, the more she laughed, placing her arms in front of her stomach. Holding the soda can and just looking dumbfounded at her with big eyes, he sighed. He didn’t notice when she stopped laughing and took the soda can out of his hands, and putting it on the table in front of them.

«Admit it. It was funny...Just imagine your own expression, honey.» she muttered softly.

«I...guess…?» he muttered back.

She giggled softly and turned around to face him and walked up, wrapping her arms around his waist while looking up at him with a soft smile. She reached up for his bangs, gently running her fingers through them. «Seems like you got it all out.»

«Hopefully i got it out soon enough...don’t want my hair to smell like shit. Literally.» he hissed.

Luna giggled and gave him a light pat on his cheek. «I’m sure you got it all out.» Gladion just hummed softly, followed by a soft sigh.

She gave him a playful wink and let go of him, turning around to grab the soda again. Gladion dried up his hair a little more before letting the towel rest on his shoulders, crossing his arms while looking at her. Luna knew he was looking at her, which made her just move her hips a little, making him gain a faint blush on his cheeks, and he didn’t even try to fight it.

«What are you doing?» he asked.

She hummed and looked over her shoulder. «Oh. You still there? Thought you had left.~» she replied with a teasing tone in her voice, turning her attention out to the horizon again, listening to the seagulls screeching in the distance.

He rolled his eyes at her. «Right...» he muttered, narrowing his eyes at her as a grin started to appear.

**\----------**

Luna had placed herself in the outdoor pool, and kept her gaze out at the sea, finding it fascinating to look out at. Gladion had been sitting at the table inside for a while, replying to a few emails from Aether. He didn’t want to, but had dragged the laptop with him just in case, knowing that Wicke and Lillie would most likely get his opinion on a few things. As much as he hated it, he just felt responsible, having the need to be available at all times if possible. He had been sitting there for the rest of the day, which Luna didn’t mind, knowing that he would, most likely, take over Aether at some point, and the fact that he was interested in what the company was doing and wanted it to get better and be one of the best, contradict what he was saying.

_That he didn’t want to take over._

Luna could tell that it was a lie he started at some point, and slowly started to believe in it. She could see how he lighted up from whenever there was something going on, and he had been a part of it, one way or another, and that his input had been useful. He let out a soft sigh and finally closed the laptop, looking outside at the dark sky, and the moon that was reflecting in the ocean water. He got up from the chair and were planning to get over to Luna, join her in the outdoor pool. She turned and looked at him, and asked him to turn the lights inside off, which he didn’t know what for, but he did it before joining her.

Going up behind her and placing his arms beside hers, he placed his head on her shoulder, their cheeks touching gently. «Why did you want the lights off?»

«Because i wanted a better look at the stars.» she replied and looked up.

He looked up, seeing the stars and a good portion of the milky way. At least a portion that couldn’t be seen in Alola, no matter how much they stared up at the night sky. Looking at the night sky for a little, he looked over at her, who were still looking up. Her eyes were looking azure from the reflection of the water, as well as the ripples on the surface reflecting. Considering her grey eyes, it was rather common for her eyes to look a different color in certain situation, it just made her more interesting to him.

«I know you can see the stars from Alola as well, but it’s somewhat...still fascinating.» she muttered softly.

«It’s the same sky, but a different angle.» he replied to her, looking up again.

Staying there in silence, looking up at the sky, Luna glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. From the day they first met, to the day they met again, and with everything that were going to happen, getting to know each other, to the time he stole a kiss from her and panicked. She had realized her feelings earlier, but didn’t want to act on them, considering that he’ll most likely resent her and send her off, as well as it was considered taboo, on both sides. She acted on them when he gave her another at new years eve, which he, to her surprise, didn’t fight back when she crashed her lips on his. She had gotten quite silent while thinking about it, but it seemed that Gladion didn’t notice. She took another quick glance at him, seeing his profile. He had softened his expression a lot from the usual stern frown he had at all times, and had more expressions in general. Whenever he was flustered was her favourite, as it would result in him being beet red and stutter. Though, she didn’t mind his serious expression, especially when he fitted it with a smirk. It made her swoon like nothing every time. As well as she had noticed that whenever he were talking to Lusamine, he were standing up for himself more, not backing down and gained more confidence in himself on that part.

«You are unusually silent?» he muttered softly, nuzzling into her cheek.

«Sorry...Just thinking.» she replied, smiling softly.

«About what?» he asked. «If you care to share that is.»

Luna chuckled softly. «Oh you know...» she started, pausing a little as she turned around to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. «Just thinking back on when you first stole a kiss from me.» she finished.

«Right...Not my finest moment...» he muttered. Luna chuckled softly, which made a slight smirk appear on his lips before he leaned in, pressing his lips against hers. Parting, their lips hovering over each other. «Well shit...» he muttered softly.

«Oh!~» she exclaimed in surprise, clearly faking it. «You stole another one.~»

«Sue me.» he murmured.

«You’re clearly under arrest, sir.~» she murmured back.

He chuckled lightly before leaning in the few inches there were left, locking their lips. He used his body to press her up against the wall, deepening the kisses, one of his hands finding its way down to her hip, grabbing her and pulled her more towards him in a desperate attempt to get even closer than what was possible. She loved the way he was gentle, yet slightly rough with her, and her thoughts and feelings were confirmed again when he slipped his tongue in between her lips, gently and passionately dancing around hers, claiming his territory. She could feel her breath slowly get heavy, and her body starting to heat up all over again.


	55. Pendant

Having been around the tropical region for a while, hiking and sightseeing, as well as other activities while looking around. What Gladion didn’t like about this vacation was that he had to work at times, which he did apologize for to her. Luna kept telling him that she didn’t mind, as she would just bother him if she wanted his attention. He had gotten up early this morning, just to look over some things that Wicke had sent him, letting Luna sleep in and trying to be as silent as possible. He had been sitting there for a while, replying to messages from Wicke and Lillie, as she ended up needing some opinions on things. He leaned back in the chair, stretching his arms and back, letting a few joints crack into place. He got up from the chair, taking his mug with him over to the kitchen area, refilling it with some coffee he had managed to make earlier after he woke up, without waking Luna up. He let out a soft sigh while standing there, taking a sip of the coffee, being slightly irritated that he were working while being on vacation. He stood there, sipping on the coffee for a while and kept sighing.

«How long have you been awake?»

Gladion hummed and looked over his shoulder, seeing her sitting on the bed with the sheet covering her front. «A while.» he muttered. Luna shifted her position, humming softly as she tilted her head at him. «I’m sorry that i’m working...» he added, averting his eyes from her.

«That’s fine...It just shows that you are passionate about the company.» she replied, giving him a soft smile.

He sighed and shaked his head. «I have told you...i have no plans on taking over.»

«I know, but that doesn't mean you don’t have to be passionate or feel passionate about it. Even if Lillie takes over, i’m sure you’ll be in the background.» she replied.

Gladion let out another sigh, looking down at the dark liquid in the mug. «I guess...» he muttered.

Luna got up from the bed, wrapping the sheet around her loosely as she walked over to him. Stopping behind him, she placed her forehead onto his back and wrapped her arms around him. «Take a break for now.» she muttered softly.

«I still have a few more things to reply to though...» he muttered, followed by a sigh.

«Well...get that done while i make something to eat. Hmm?» she replied and looked up at him.

A soft smile appeared on his lips as he took a sip of the coffee. «No promises...but i’ll get through it.» She nodded and hummed softly, letting go of him. He turned around to see her, seeing the sheets loosely wrapped around her. «You should probably get dressed first...» he said, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

«I’ll get to it.» she murmured.

He leaned down to her, giving her a soft kiss. He walked past her and over to the table, sitting down again in front of the laptop. Luna got over to the bed again, finding her bag and got some clothes. She got into the swimwear first before getting into a light summer dress. Walking over to the kitchen area again, she put her hair up in a ponytail, thinking about braiding it later when she were done making some breakfast. She made something simple and got it over to him, sitting down beside him and started to eat her portion. He kept eating slowly while replying to the emails he got, and continued to get, as new ones would arrive after he replied to one. It took awhile for Gladion to get through the emails, which ended up with more to the point that he stopped replying to them, closing the laptop in frustration. He groaned and ran his hands over his face in frustration. Luna were sitting outside, occupied herself with a book that were laying around in the bungalow. He got up from the chair and walked out to her, sitting down beside her.

«Done?» she asked, not looking up from the book.

«Not really...» he muttered, followed by a sigh.

He threw himself down, his head landing on her lap. Luna managed to pull the book close to her chest before he did so, avoiding him to knock it out of her hands, and him getting slightly hurt by it. «Just taking a breather then?» she asked, finishing reading the page she was on and closed the book.

Gladion hummed softly, having his eyes closed. «Quitting for the day.» he replied.

She smiled and chuckled softly, put the book to the side and started to run her fingers through is hair and bangs gently. While she were doing that, he snuck his arm behind her back, lightly rubbing her lower back. Removing his bangs from his face, she started to gently run her fingers down his jawline. Gladion eventually snoozed off, as well as he had been up for hours before she woke up. While he were sleeping, she got the book up again and continued to read from where she left off.

**\----------**

Gladion stayed away from the laptop the rest of the day, despite some email alarms going off, and some messages getting onto his phone. Gladion just growled at it while Luna chuckled at it, which just made his frown more prominent. They had been around the nearby city, just wandering around a little before getting back to the bungalow, and just relax in the outdoor pool until she got up and started to make dinner. For once, Gladion were helping out, despite him not really knowing what she were making or what he would be doing, other than to chop up some vegetables she told him to get ready. Watching what she were doing for once were quite interesting, as he were usually busy with some homework or Aether work whenever she started anything. Luna enjoyed it, as it was making it easier for her and the time to make anything were significantly shorter. She did let him taste test whatever he wanted, making sure that it was to his taste as she wasn’t a picky eater, despite her loving her sweets. They finished making it and plated, deciding to sit outside. Gladion made sure he were under some roof, not wanting any bird to take a dump on him, or his food. Luna just giggled, trying her best to hold in the laughter as he hissed at the seagulls, that were quite loud. Luna didn’t mind the birds, as they haven’t done anything to her, as well as she liked the noises they were giving, making it feel more of a vacation for her. While Gladion had been working, he had been looking around at other things to do in the region, and around the resort they were staying at, only to find nothing to do.

«You really do hate the birds, huh?» she asked, trying her best to mask the smile.

«I’m sure you would have hated them too after  _ that _ ...» he lightly hissed. Luna snorted and laughed softly. Gladion got a faint blush on his cheeks from hearing her laugh. «Not funny...» he hissed.

Slowly finishing eating, putting the dishes away and deciding to take a stroll around the city, just looking around at the different vendors on the streets. While looking around, there was something that caught Gladion’s attention, but since she were around, he didn’t dare to take a proper look. He didn’t want to catch her attention while looking at the object, and just passed it, thinking that he’ll try and take a look a little later. Luna kept looking around at the vendors, and found some interesting trinkets, though, they were just that. Interesting. Gladion watched from behind while she were looking around, studying a few of the things she saw.

«Finding anything interesting?» he asked.

She looked over her shoulder at him. «Not really. Lot of trinkets, and that’s about it.» she replied, looking down at the table in front of her again.

Gladion nodded. «Just get it if you like it.»

«Oh? Trying to flex?» she asked, walking over to him.

«What…?» he muttered, looking down at her in confusion.

«Flexing the Aether wealth?» she murmured, giving him a smug grin.

«What...No...» he muttered. He looked away in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head. He tried to think of something clever, but nothing came to mind.

Luna giggled softly and poked his nose. «I’m joking.» she said, giving him a playful wink.

She walked up to his side and linked her arm with his, smiling sweetly. Gladion gave her a sheepish smile as they started to walk off, getting away from the streets and all the vendors that were trying to get them to buy anything, as well as invading Gladion’s comfort zone by getting all up in his face, telling him that he should get whatever they were showing him for Luna. He politely declined every time, but they got more pushy when leaving the place, which got him quite irritated, to the point of getting enraged. Luna gave him a light poke on his arm, seeing that his frown were quite visible.

«Calm down...they are just doing their job...» she muttered softly.

«A really bad one at that...» he hissed.

Luna sighed softly, shaking her head. «Different region does mean different customs, Gladion.»

«I’m well aware...» he grumbled. Luna just let out another sigh, hanging her head a little.

**\----------**

After being around in the nearby city for a while, Gladion walked off for a little, telling Luna that he wanted to check something out, which she nodded at, telling him that she would just wait at the nearby cafè. While Luna were waiting around, she ordered a local drink, sipping on that while watching the people walk by, minding their own business. It didn’t take to long before he was back and they headed back to the resort. She did ask him on the way back what he were going to check out, only for him to tell her that he didn’t find what he was looking for.

«Didn’t really find it.» he said, followed by a soft sigh. Luna just told him that he would probably find it when they got back to the other region after this vacation. Gladion nodded. «Most likely. Bummer...» he sighed.

Luna were holding the drink she had and offered him a sip. «Want a taste?»

«What is it?» he asked, looking at it.

«Some pear flavoured drink. It’s pretty good.» she replied, sliding the glass over to him as he sat down.

He took a look at it again before taking a sip. «Hmm...Reminds me of the pineapple one back in Alola.»

Luna hummed softly. «Might be the same formula, just different flavour.» she replied.

«Maybe so.» he muttered, taking another sip. «It actually tastes better.»

Sharing the drink and finishing it, they started to head back to the resort, getting back to the bungalow before the sky got into a deep orange. They didn’t bother to get a taxi, since it was nice feeling the light breeze gently caress their skin as they walked over, which didn’t take to long either. Getting into the bungalow, Luna got herself out of the summer dress and got into the outdoor pool, relaxing in there after walking for a while. Gladion snuck into the bathroom, being a little stressed out. He eventually got out and had changed into his swim trunks, joining her in the pool. They sat there for a while, just sitting there, looking up at the sky that were slowly changing from the light blue color, fading over to an orange and then later to a darker blue when the stars started to appear. Gladion got up from the pool, wanting to get something to drink, and asked if she wanted something as well, while he were up on his feet.

«Yes, please.~» she replied softly, giving him a soft smile as he walked off. She quickly turned her attention to.

Luna moved over to the other side of the pool, placing her arms on the edge and resting her head on top, keeping her eyes up at the sky. As many times she had looked up, the night sky was something that always was fascinating to watch. Gladion got back after a few minutes, getting into the pool and approaching her. She noticed that he were getting closer, as the water moved slightly when he got into the pool again.

He extended his hand to her, holding the soda can. «Here.»

«Thank you.~» she replied softly.

She were about to open it when Gladion slipped something out in front of her, and around her neck. She were looking quite confused out in front of her while holding the soda can. «Found this and thought it would be fitting.» he murmured softly.

Luna looked down, seeing a crescent shaped moon pendant. «Gladion...» she muttered softly. She took it on hand, looking a little closer at it. A crescent moon, with a few crystals in it.

Gladion were standing behind as he got it on her, placing the soda can on the edge of the pool before wrapping his arms around her waist, placing a gentle kiss on her temple. «I might be flexing the wealth a little...» he muttered, looking down at the jewellery.

Luna chuckled softly. «Oh you~. You didn’t have to...»

He hummed softly, moving his head down so their cheeks were touching. «I know...I did it because i wanted to.»

«I love it.» she said softly, putting the soda can onto the edge of the pool and turned around to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a warm smile, a light kiss on his cheek and a tight hug. «Thank you.~ I love it!~» she added, followed by a light squeal.

«I’m glad you do.» he replied, holding around her tightly, lightly swaying from side to side.

Giving her something like that jewellery were his way of showing how he felt for her, without saying anything, and being scared of the sentence containing the three words, being sure it would do more harm than good.


	56. Back to daily Life

Their vacation lasted the entire summer vacation before they headed back to the region. Having made a few new memories and Luna stealing his phone at times to take photos of the two at different situations, as well as the different places they did visit, making memories. She wore the pendant she got from Gladion at all times, expect whenever she were in the shower, bathing or anything that included getting her body wet from the shoulders and down. They had recently gotten back to the apartment and settled down, getting back to a normal sleeping schedule since classes were going to start in a few days, which wasn’t the most exciting thing, and Gladion definitely didn’t look forward to it. Gladion had also been working a few of the days while they were away, which he still apologized to her for, feeling bad that Aether had taken up some of the time.

«It’s fine, Gladion. It was...somewhat expected really.» she said, leaning against him on the couch.

«It shouldn’t have been like that...» he muttered, followed by a sigh.

Luna giggled softly, placing her hand on his cheek, patting lightly. «Seriously. It’s fine.»

Luna had slotted herself in under his arm, and Gladion were looking down at her, occasionally glancing over at the pendant he gave her, which were resting gently on her skin. One of the last days in the tropical region, Luna had noticed something rather strange when Gladion were talking to Lillie. She had forgotten that Luna were a ‘Fae’, and whenever Lillie brought up the topic, it was the same thing.

_ When are you getting yourself a Fae? _

Gladion didn’t get it, neither did Luna, but they didn’t say much. Gladion replied with that he would eventually, since he’ll most likely get the exam where he needed one for it when graduation next year. Luna found it quite strange and worrisome, since Lillie had seen her humanoid form a few times, and it shouldn’t make her to different for not having her ears and tail out. Gladion didn’t think to much about it, finding it somewhat of a relief that she had forgotten, as well as it meant that he didn’t really need to hide Luna to the same extent, and it made him think that maybe others had forgotten about her like that too. Seeing her just as confused at first made him sure that she didn’t know why or how that had happened, and didn’t need to ask, since she most likely didn’t have an answer to it. The more Luna kept thinking about it, the more it became clear as the days passed. It was because of her crystalizing. The progress of her tail had been slow, but it was still very much there, and getting close to being mid way of doing it, which was worrisome in itself. She hated the fact that it wasn’t painful, making it less noticable for her to even know how far it had gotten. Not wanting to think about it, nor wanting to let Gladion know, as she didn’t want him to be worried, she kept quiet about it, but it was getting harder, since small shards of crystals were being found after she had been sleeping, and it started to get annoying, but it was something she couldn’t do anything about.

Sitting there in silence, she noticed that he looked down at her chest. «To much of a view?» she asked, giving him a playful smirk.

He rolled his eyes and reached for the pendant, holding it gently. «It’s quite  _ eye catching _ with this hanging around.» he replied, giving her a smirk back.

«Blame yourself for giving it to me.» she said, waving her hand at him. «Or...was that your plan all along?» she added.

He chuckled. «Do you want to know?» he asked.

«I’m not sure...I’ll think about it.» she replied, letting her ringer run over his jawline.

«Think all you want.» he muttered softly, chuckling lightly. She gave him another light pat on his cheek, giggling softly.

**\----------**

Aether kept taking some time from him until classes started again. Luna, as usual, didn’t tag along and kept herself in the apartment, with a little more freedom than before. She didn’t really mind staying inside, have gotten quite used do it, but Gladion made sure that she would walk around in the streets whenever he wasn’t around. While he were gone, she took the opportunity to walk around on her own, but ended up at the nearby park, finding it the best spot to just hang around on, until he were done or close to done with classes for the day. She found a spot beside the artificial lake within the park and sat down beside a tree, just looking around and enjoying what she saw of animals and people. While sitting there, there was a few kids approaching her out of curiosity, asking why she was sitting there alone, just staring out at the lake and look at people that were walking past her. The kids eventually sat around her, looking at her like she was crazy.

Luna felt rather uncomfortable and came up with that she likes to sit there in in silence to clear her mind. The group of kids just rolled their eyes and nodded, and she were about to say something else, asking questions for a while, at least until the parents of the kids called on them, and they quickly left. As they left, she let out a soft sigh, thinking that it would have been easier to deal with them if she actually had her ears and tail out, making her slightly more interesting. Though, that might have gotten more people's attention, which would have been bad in itself. She shrugged it off, as they were kids after all and were just speaking their mind. After a while, she decided to do some meditation the rest of the time being there, as well as seeing if there was a way to slow down the crystallization of her any more.

While sitting there, a familiar face showed up. «So this is where you are while i’m gone?»

Luna opened her eyes and looked up in surprise. «Gladion…?» She looked around a little. «Have i been sitting here for that long…?» she muttered to herself.

Gladion sat down beside her. «I don’t mind you doing your own thing. How long have you been around here?» he asked, looking around at the place. «How did you find this spot?» he added.

«I just walked out and wandered around until i found this spot.» she replied. «And i don’t know how long i have been here...Most of the day i guess? I left pretty quickly after you left.»

Gladion nodded. «Alright. Pretty quiet around here considering it’s in the park.»

Luna smiled softly. «Which is why i sat down here.» she replied.

She scooted closer to him and leaned against him, putting her head on his shoulder. As she did, he reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers and rubbing her thumb gently with his. While sitting there, the kids and their parents passed them and saw that Gladion were sitting there and pointed at him, and were talking rather loudly.

«The girl has a boyfriend...» one of the young boys said, pointing at him.

«He has weird hair...» one of the young girls said, giggling.

«He does...» did another young girl giggle.

Gladion sent them a glare out of habit, which made them all flinch and hurry after their parents, getting scared. Luna squeezes his hand lightly, telling him that he didn’t have to give them a glare like that. Gladion looked over at her. «Old habits die hard...» he muttered.

She giggled. «That i’m well aware off.»

«How do you know them, as they were referring to you.» he asked.

«Oh, they just came over and sat down for a short while, asking me questions.» she replied to him.

«What questions?»

«All kinds of questions.» she sighed, hanging her head a little.

He chuckled. «They grilled you that bad?»

She scoffed and rolled her eyes before looking up at him. «Says the one with the weird haircut.» she replied, followed by a light chuckle.

He glared over to her, seeing a smug smirk across her lips. «Say that again…?» he hissed at her.

«You heard me.~» she murmured, reaching up for him and pulls him down, giving him a soft peck on his cheek. Gladion growled, but were blushing lightly and having a faint pout. «I win.» she murmured.

«Whatever...» he hissed.

Luna giggled and got up on her feet. «Let’s get home. I’m starting to get hungry...»

He nodded and got up on his feet. Luna linked her arm with him and they headed towards the entrance of the park, being on their way back to the apartment. Walking the street, they bumped into a familiar face.

«Well look who’s got a girl...I’m impressed Gladion.»

Gladion growled. «Get lost, Chad...No one likes you.»

«Ooh...So harsh.» he replied in a sarcastic tone. «Who’s the girl?»

Luna weren’t looking to impressed, as well as she didn’t like him one bit. The two just walked past him, ignoring him, or at least trying to. As they continued walking down the street, Chad decided to tag along, asking who she was and were his supposed Fae were. Gladion just quickly replied with that his ‘Fae’ were at home and waiting, not telling him anything more. Chad just kept on going with questions and, like others, didn’t remember her. Gladion noticed that he were looking up down, occasionally nodding and smirking to himself. Gladion did his best to keep his cool, but as they got to the complex, Chad were about to follow after them inside, which wasn’t alright with him.

Gladion turned around to face him. «Look...I don’t like the way you are looking at her, and you are  _ not _ invited in. Get lost.» he snarled at him.

«We’ll see about that, Alola boy. We’ll see about that.» he replied, rather confident. He looked over at Luna, who were standing in the doorway. «Later’s girl.~»

Luna just grimaced in disgust and looked away from him. Gladion snarled another warning at him before walking in, Luna following after him. He were looking quite pissed off. He kept lowkey growling on the way up in the elevator, which made her sigh softly.

«Gladion...» she muttered softly.

«What?» he hissed.

«Why do you even bother being mad at him…?» she asked. «He’s just taunting you.» Gladion looked over at her, not saying anything, just giving her a  _ look _ . «Come on, you know that.»

Gladion sighed, looking back at the elevator doors. «The look he gave you were just...» he muttered.

«Just what?» she asked, leaning forward a little, looking up at him. «Irritating you? It was just a look, Gladion.»

«Still don’t like it...» he replied, slightly hissing it.

«I can handle a  _ look _ , as long as he ain’t  _ touching _ me.» she said, looking around the elevator. «Touching is reserved to only one.~» she added, giving him a smug smirk.

«It better be reserved for only  _ one _ .» he replied, giving her a smirk back. Luna chuckled softly, poking his cheek gently.

The elevator stopped at their floor and the doors opened, letting them out. Getting out of it and starting to walk down the hallway, over to the apartment, Luna asked what he wanted to eat, as they had a lot in the freezer and the fridge, and needed to get used before turning bad. Gladion replied with the usual. 

_ Don’t care. Whatever you make is good. _

Luna sighed and groaned softly, shaking her head. She knew he didn’t care, but asked everyday anyway, hoping that he would, for once, give her an answer to what he actually wanted. Getting into the apartment, Gladion left to get a shower and into something casual, while Luna started on something to eat. As much as she hated his answers to what he wanted, she didn’t mind experimenting either, and as long as he ate whatever she made, it was fine.


	57. Strange Resemblance

Days were going on as usual again. Gladion getting up and heads to classes, and Luna stayed behind, doing whatever she wanted. She were usually strolling around the park, ending up at the spot by the lake, sitting there and just enjoying the silence, as well as meditating. Her tail were close to get fully crystallized, and it was quite terrifying, but again, the progress had slowed down, and she didn’t know why. She tried to figure it out, by doing her own research. Reading books about Fae’s and searching online whenever Gladion wasn’t around, keeping it a secret still. It started to itch on her, wanting to let him know, but at the same time, she knew he would get overly worried and most likely try to find a solution or a cure to it, which there wasn’t. Most of the time when she had been out and about, she had bumped into Chad, who tried to get a good word in all the time, though she already knew he wasn’t up to no good, and kept her distance as good as possible. Chad were quite persistent, and Luna did seriously consider to show her true colors to ward him off. Chad did comment on the necklace that she were wearing, telling her that he could do much better with gifts than Gladion, which she frowned at, as she loved the necklace that she got.

«I do actually like it...» she muttered as she got up on her feet, gathering her things, as she had been sitting under the tree for a while, reading a book.

Chad scoffed. «I’m sure you just say that to spare his feelings.» he replied, looking smug.

Luna scoffed, and her frown became more prominent on her. She sighed softly, keeping her head high. «Thanks for your input, but i’m leaving.» she said and started to walk off.

Chad laughed, and followed after her. He kept on talking bad and insulting Gladion. She kept on ignoring him as they walked out of the park, starting to head down the streets. She knew that Gladion were done with classes as she left, and would either meet him outside the building or meet him on the inside. Knowing that, she started to walk faster, as well as trying to give Chad the hint that he wasn’t wanted and were unwelcome.

«Where are you going in such a hurry? Back to the Alola boy?» He said towards her. Luna just ignored him.

While walking down the street, she noticed him in the distance and decided to call his name and wave, getting his attention. He were looking down at some news on his phone, but looked up as he heard he were being called for in front of him. Seeing her wave at him, and with a sweet smile across her lips, he couldn’t help himself to smile softly back.

«Out and about?» he asked as she got beside him.

«More or less. Been at the park and just been reading some books.» she replied. She looked over her shoulder, and couldn’t see Chad behind her. She shrugged and figured that he either hid or walked off. «How was the classes?» she asked. «Anything new and interesting?»

«The same dull shit.» he muttered, followed by a sigh. «Be happy that you wasn’t there...»

Luna giggled softly. «Maybe i am.~» she replied cheerfully, making him frown at her.

«Tch...You dumb dog.» he muttered and passed her. Luna just rolled her eyes at him, and hurried to his side.

Getting inside of the building and taking the elevator up, they stayed quiet, listening to the horrible elevator music that were giving them some background music. Luna kept thinking about what she had read, and figured out on her own regarding the crystallization of hers. It had slowed down for the time being, but would most likely start up quickly again, and be even faster, though, but she didn’t know when it would rapidly start up again. As well as it most likely would start to be painful again, when it connected from her tail to her spine, which would be the most painful part. She clearly didn’t look forward to any more of the pain, much less turning into a crystal and disappear. She also got back on the thought of telling Gladion, but quickly ruled that out when she looked up at him, seeing that he were looking rather stressed after the classes, despite him telling her that it was as  _ dull as ever _ .

They got out of the elevator and walked down the corridor and over to the apartment, getting inside again. Gladion kicked off his shoes and told her that he would take a shower, needing to feel refreshed and shaking off the tiredness from classes all day. Luna nodded and told him that she would make something easy for him to get down when he were done, as she didn’t feel like making anything fancy. 

«Alright.» he muttered and walked off, unbuttoning some of the top buttons on the shirt.

**\----------**

Luna decided to tag along the next day to classes, just to have a change of scenery after getting slightly bored of the park, and getting weird looks from sitting alone around the lake. Gladion didn’t mind having her around, and he were sure that the teachers didn’t mind either and would just find it fun that there was someone new around.

«You sure i actually can tag along? It’s been a while since i have been there...and the last time i was tagging along, i was sporting my ears and tail...» she said, sounding unsure.

«It’s fine. Means that the day will go by quicker.» he said.

Luna hummed softly. «If you say so.»

Walking down the street and over to the college buildings, they walked past most of them, heading to one of the buildings in the back of the place, the first lecture of the day starting there. People didn’t pay much attention to her tagging along, but clearly didn’t remember her either as they passed the fields over to the building. Gladion opened the door and kept it open for her to walk in, following after her into the hallway, and finding their way to the lecture hall. Getting into the hall, they found some seats up in the back, getting a decent view over the whiteboard. Luna were looking around, as it had been a while since she had been around the college grounds. Nothing had changed, not as far as she knew, but it was still rather fascinating to look around, taking in the view all over again. While she kept looking around, fellow classmates gradually got inside and found a seat, as well as the teacher arrived eventually, getting his presentation up while the remaining students got over and into the lecture hall, sitting down. Gladion found a notepad and a pen, getting it ready for whatever of notes he figured that were needed to write down.

The teacher got ready, and started to call out names, taking their attendance. He got curious as of who the girl beside him were. «And who is this guest of yours, Gladion?» he asked.

«His supposed girlfriend.» Chad replied a few rows down of the two, looking rather pissed off.

«Yeah...She’s my girlfriend.» Gladion replied dryly, giving Chad a glare. Luna just smiled sheepishly and waved, feeling quite uncomfortable being the spotlight.

The teacher just shaked his head at Chad before turning his attention over to Gladion again. «Ah, i see. How nice.» he said and greeted her with a bow. «Pleasure, and it’s good to see someone new for once.» he added and turned towards the whiteboard. As he said that, the rest of the students just lightly groaned.

The teacher then continued with whatever he were going to talk about, which ended up with a lot of repeats of other things that they have already heard. Either from the different classes or the previous years. Most of the class were sitting there, groaning while a handful were taking notes. Gladion were noting a few things down occasionally, getting the few things that were sounding like something new. Luna noticed that he were looking quite concentrated while listening, getting everything with him. Chad were occasionally looking over his shoulder and at the two, mostly at Luna, who were just listening intently to what was being said by the teacher. At some point, the teacher called out Chad, and that he should pay attention to what he was saying rather than looking over at Luna.

«She’s a pretty girl, but you should pay attention to what  _ i’m _ saying!» he hissed, pointing firmly at him.

Chad, being surprised and quite embarrassed, he nodded. «Sorry sir...» he muttered, taking a last look over that her.

Gladion rolled his eyes and shaked his head. «He’ll never learn...» he muttered silently, loud enough that Luna could hear it. She just gave a soft, silent giggle.

The class ended after a while, and people gathered their stuff and started to leave. Chad left quickly, as he got a phone call, which seemed important considering that he hurried out of the lecture hall. Gladion and Luna walked out and found their way to the next building, taking their time to walk over. Once there, the class started almost immediately, so he didn’t have any time to tell her what this class was, since it started this new semester. Luna kept herself quiet, but after a while, she reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers, mostly because he looked stressed out while listening to what the teacher were saying. While sitting there, she slightly flinched, and a sharp pain were felt at her lower back, around the base of her tail. Gladion noticed it and asked her in a hushed voice if she were alright.

«I’m fine...just got the shivers.» she replied with a sweet smile.

«Take the jacket of mine if you feel cold.» he said, and took off the uniform jacket of his, handing it to her. «Here.»

«Oh..Thank you. Won’t you be cold then…?» she asked, looking at him as he shifted his position on the chair.

«I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.» he replied flatly.

Luna nodded and hummed softly as she put it on. It was big on her, and looked like she were drowning in it, which made him lightly blush, finding her cute in it. The sleeves were to long, so she kept holding them over her hands for the rest of the class, despite her not being cold, she didn’t decline his offer to wear his jacket. As well as it made her feel quite cozy, and she kept the jacket on for the rest of the day, not giving it back to him. He didn’t mind, as he didn’t find it cold, despite the weather starting to get colder the closer it got to October.

Luna looked over at him as they were walking down the street. «You sure you’re not cold?»

«Yes. I’m not cold.» he replied, again, as she had been asking him that a lot. He looked over at her. «Really, i’m not bothered by the temperature.» he added.

«You keep saying so, but i know you tend to keep most things to yourself...unless i pry it out.» she replied.

Gladion sighed. «Really, Luna...I’m fine. Let’s just...get home as a start.» Luna hummed and nodded.

In the distance behind them, Chad were walking and keeping an eye on them. He had figured that Luna were somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t pinpoint it. The more he looked at her, the more she seemed familiar, which he did find rather odd and weird. He kept his distance from them until they got into the complex building, getting out of his sight. He continued forward, being on his way to the battle dome, which was in the same direction. His Fae were already at the battle dome, having left him there earlier in the morning for some time to train before he arrived, getting ready to take on a few new challengers. While walking down, he kept pondering on who Luna actually were, and got utterly more interested in her. Gladion had, as far as he could remember, been comfortable around a girl for the most of the time college were going on, but couldn’t remember seeing him with his Fae at all, only with a girl, considering that he kept telling everyone that his Fae were at home, doing whatever it wanted. Chad found that rater strange, but wouldn’t stop keeping an eye on her, hoping that he would figure out something in the end, and hopefully before college were over before the Christmas vacation started.


	58. Crystalized

Chad had been on her  _ tail _ for months, and December had just started. Chad didn’t figure out who she was, but kept on his stalking tendencies anyway. Gladion had noticed and even confronted him about it, telling him to get lost or he’ll take legal actions. Chad said he would stop, but instead of completely stopping, he just kept his distance and kept an eye on her throughout the months. Luna knew about it, but since Gladion had said something, she didn’t do much more about it. She had kept herself more at home in the apartment, as the pain had steadily been coming back to her, which made her get slightly on edge. It had gotten colder, and the weather were also indicating that it would start to snow any day. Luna had been around the park more, trying o numb the pain in her back by keeping herself exposed to the cold weather, which did help a little, but not for long. This day were no different. Gladion were out, having a few of the remaining classe before the holiday vacation started. She were in the apartment, and have released the magic on her that made her hide her fo ears and tail, holding her tail tightly to her because of the pain she felt, not sure what she would be doing, nor where she should be, which made her pace back and forth in the living room.

In the end, after walking around a lot in the apartment, she left, feeling like it was the best idea and that her tail were soon done with the crystallization and she didn’t want to be around the place, nor wanting Gladion to see her in this state. She didn’t bother to hide her tail nor ears, but used some magic that made herself hidden while she got out. She got out of the apartment, and eventually out of the building, looking around the street a little before walking off, thinking that the shed she hid in the last time would be the best spot, since he didn’t find her there the last time. On her way walking to the park, the pain got worse from each step she took and tears were starting to roll down her cheeks, lightly shivering. She had a few stops on the way, wiping her eyes and cheeks before continuing on walking.

«I’m sorry, Gladion…» she lightly sobbed to herself as she walked down the street.

Getting to the entrance of the park, she stopped for a while, just looking inside for a few seconds before walking in, taking her time finding the shed in the middle of the park. The closer she got to the shed, the more painful it got as she walked, the pain sending electric charges up her spine with each step, which only made her hold her tail tighter. Getting over to the shed, she slowly opened the door and got inside, lightly treading around since it was pretty run down and not maintained. She placed herself in the corner, curling up. Her knees up to her chin, holding her tail tightly, her ears laying flat on her head and tears streaming down from her eyes.

**\----------**

After the last class for the holidays finally ended, Gladion gathered his stuff in a hurry and started on his way back to the apartment. On the way back home, he got a bad feeling, slowly finding himself getting worried for Luna, but shaked the feeling off, thinking that he were just imagining things and that she were at home, doing whatever she usually wanted to do. Walking down the street and over to the complex building, he were met by the security guy in at the front desk, telling him that he thought he saw his Fae, or girlfriend walk out, but weren’t sure.

«She didn’t wear any warm clothes, which worries me...since it will start to snow soon.» he said.

Gladion looked puzzled at him, but nodded, the feeling of that something were wrong growing. «I’ll go and look for her if she’s not around.» he replied flatly, getting into the elevator, which couldn’t close and start going up fast enough to his floor.

Getting out of the elevator before the doors were fully open, he hurried to the apartment door, unlocking it and hurrying to get inside, dropping the bag to the side and started to look around while calling for her. Checking every room there was, he didn’t find her, which made him even more worried and uneasy. He noticed that her usual coat were still around, and considering that the security guy had told him that she didn’t look dressed for the weather, and that it would be snowing soon. Getting changed out of the uniform and into casual clothes, he decided to get out again, seeing if he could find her at all. Before walking out of the apartment, he grabbed her coat. He left the apartment, locking the door with a light sigh, heading back to the elevator. He got down to the lobby and met the security guy again, giving him a nod as he passed and walked out of the building. The security guy told him that she were walking down towards the park, which were Gladion were thinking of starting first, thinking that she were probably just at her favourite spot, sleeping, since that were something she had made into a habit. He nodded and started to head down towards it, hoping that he’ll be meeting her on the way.

Not meeting her on the way, he ended up at the entrance of the park, and hurried in. It being December, the days were usually always dark and gloomy, but for some reason, he found it even more so this day. Walking around and looking, he ended up at her favourite spot, but didn’t see her, nor any indications that she had been there either. Gladion continued to walk around, ending up around where the shed was, but at the other side. He looked over at it, but felt like she would never be in there, yet, he walked over, figuring out that he should rule that place out while being around. As he got closer, he could hear faint sobbing, which made him hurry to the door. He slowly got the door open and looked inside, finding her in the corner in the back of the building.

«Luna? What the fuck...» he muttered and walked in. Hearing the floor crack under him, he slowly and carefully got over to her. As he got over to her, he kneeled down, hearing her sobbing. «Luna…?»

«Go away...» she muttered between her sobs.

«Well, i’m not going anywhere...What’s wrong?» he asked, draping the coat of hers over her shoulders, noticing that her skin were slightly blue, most likely from the cold weather, as she wasn’t wearing much. Seeing her shivering, hearing her sobs and noticing that her tail were unusually sparkly, looking like a massive piece of crystal. «Luna...What’s going on?» he muttered.

«It hurts...» she muttered between her sobs.

He hesitated a little before placing his hand on her shoulder. «What hurts?»

«My back...» she added.

«Your back?» he repeated, seeing her slightly nod. His hand on her shoulder slowly going over to her back, pulling her over to him, resting his head on top over hers while gently rubbing her back. 

«I’m dying...» she sobbed.

«You are not dying...» he replied to her, not knowing why she were in such a pain, and that her tail were looking like a massive crystal.

Holding her close to him, he could feel her shivering, most likely a mixture from the cold and the pain that she were feeling. Seeing that it was at its most painful, he didn’t really know what to do, but kept gently rubbing her back, hoping that would soothe is somewhat for her. It didn’t take to long before she stopped shivering, and her sobbing slowly died down. Luna moved away from him a little, only to push him down to her, crashing their lips together. It took him by surprise at first, but quickly leaned into it, holding it for that seemed several minutes before parting. The pain she felt had stopped, but she fully knew what would happen next as the kiss broke, their eyes meeting. Her eyes were filled with sadness, which made his heart clench in his chest.

She gave him a sweet, warm smile, which made him slightly relax, his expression starting to soften up. «I love you.» she muttered with a cracked voice.

His growing smile faded quickly, and his face became unusually pale. «What?» he replied, looking at her with big eyes.

She kept her smile, but before he could get in another word, in mere seconds, her entire being turned into crystal. Gladion just stared at her, his eyes getting bigger, not knowing how to react, as he saw her fully crystallized in front of him. He reached for her cheek, and as he did, a massive crack were heard and appeared, going across her soft smile, small bits falling off and landing on the floor in front of him. The horror he witnessed happening in front of him made his eyes grew even bigger. In the same amount of time she turned into crystal, she fell down into dust, making a massive dust pile of crystal in front of him. The necklace he had given her were heard hitting the floor, but he didn’t react fast enough to catch it mid air, watching it land and get covered up. Her last words were ringing in his mind, hearing her gentle voice repeat it.

«Luna...What…?» he managed to mutter, looking at the pile of crystal dust.

It slowly went up for him what had been going on, and what had just happened as he reached for the pendant he gave her, digging it out of the pile. Looking at the pendant a few seconds before he clenched his fist around it tightly, realizing that the pain she had started to feel, which was rather intense in the beginning were something he knew was, but didn’t get the connection between it at the time. He knew what crystalizing was, and that it was a rather painful process for a Fae and a Fable, and it could start without warning, even last for years before anything happened to said Fable or Fae. There wasn’t even a cure for it, but medications that would slow down the entire process.

«Why didn’t you tell me…?» he muttered, feeling his heart clenched tightly in his chest. «YOU DUMB DOG!» he snarled furiously all of a sudden, giving the floor a good punch as tears started to form. Still clenching his fist, so hard that the sharp edges on the pendant broke his skin, blood starting to show and drip slowly from his hand.

He sat there, leaned towards the wall for a few hours, just looking at the pile of crystal dust, hoping that it was all a dumb joke and that she would magically reappear again, like a Phoenix getting reborn from their own ashes. Her coat that he had brought with him were laying beside the pile, gently while the crystal dust had got some particles attached to it, making it lightly sparkle in the dim light that came from the crack on the roof. Sitting there, just staring at it for hours at end, he eventually got up on his feet and left the shed. Not looking back, still clenching rightly around the pendant, he walked out of the park, down the street and getting into the complex building again. The security guy were there and saw him pass him, getting into the elevator. Gladion were looking rather emotionless, which gave the security guy shivers down his spine, even more so when he saw a light chain from a necklace hanging from his hand, with a few bloodstains on it, as well as on his hand. Following his movements into the elevator, Gladion’s eyes were red, but quite dull looking. The security guy kept a watch on him in the elevator until he got to his floor and walked out into the hallway, finding his way to the apartment. He got in, closed the door and locked it, but kept standing there, looking around with an empty gaze. Leaning up against the door, his legs suddenly failed him, making him slide down to the floor, ending up sitting there while a scowl were getting more prominent on his features. The scowl didn’t last for to long when tears started to swell up in his eyes again, gently running down his cheeks as he hung his head, gritting his teeth and scoffing. Bending his knees up and resting his elbows on them, he buried his face in his arms, starting to lightly shiver as the tears continued to stream down his cheeks, trying his best not to start weeping.


	59. Last Reflection

It took a great toll on Gladion when Luna disappeared, and the only thing he knew on how to cope with it were to become numb and somewhat emotionless. It was still quite painful and his mind kept imagining her at times, as well as playing tricks on him, hearing phantom voices of her calling his name. He didn’t even notice that the holiday were over when the next semester had started again, it was like it never happened, like she had never been there. Lillie had been paying him a visit, since she had tried to get in touch with him, but didn’t get a reply, and got worried. She got there as quickly as she could, only to find him looking like a mess, sorta. When she arrived at the complex, she got a spare key for the place of his from the security guy at the front after talking the guy into giving her one, since she were worried. She found Gladion sitting on the floor, in the corner where Luna would sit at times, just looking out the windows with an empty look on his face. It was a look she had seen before, and didn’t like it. Making him look quite scary, to the point that he most likely could have killed someone. At least looking the part.

«Oh my gosh...Brother...» she muttered, standing in the doorway as she looked over at him. She looked around the apartment, which were still quite tidy to an extent, but she felt there was something missing, yet, she couldn’t pinpoint it.

Gladion looked over at her from the corner of his eyes. «What do you want? And why are you here?» he hissed.

«I have emailed, messaged and tried to call you, but didn’t get any reply, so i got worried!» she hissed back slightly, closing the door behind her, taking a few steps towards him. «What’s going on? I haven’t seen you this depressed in a while...» she muttered. «Have mother said something?» she asked.

He scoffed. «Mother? What doesn't she say...» he muttered.

Lillie frowned and looked to the side. «I knew it...she have said something...» She walked over to him and sat down on her knees in front of him, pulling him into a hug. It surprised him and struck a nerve he didn’t want to notice, feeling his heart dropping in his chest. «I’m sorry mom is like that...» she muttered.

«Mom has always been like that...» he muttered, swallowing thickly and trying not to break down into tears.

After a while, she let go of him, and ordered him to take a shower and get himself ready, as she were hungry and wanted something to eat. Gladion just sighed and didn’t know what he expected from her, but nodded lightly. Getting up from the floor, Lillie decided to clean up the living room and the kitchen area while he were in the shower, it looking like a mess. Gladion got into the bathroom and locked the door behind him, slowly getting himself into the shower. He were still holding the pendant tightly in his hand, and looked at it for a few seconds before he gently placed it on the bathroom counter. He got into the shower, turned the water on and let it run over him. He finished after a while, got dressed and walked out to the living room, finding Lillie sitting on a chair at the dinner table.

She smiled and got up from the chair as she saw him. «Let get something to eat then.~» she said cheerfully.

«Yeah...» he muttered softly.

**\----------**

The last part of the semester ended, and Gladion passed with one of the top scores, the other being Chad and another fellow classmate. Getting back to the apartment, he had packed most of his stuff down and sent of back to Alola, getting himself ready to leave as well, but there were a few errands he needed to do before that, one being getting the college uniform clean and get it back. The other were to decide what to do with the apartment, which were either selling, renting or just let it dust down for another time. It didn’t really matter either way, and while getting the uniform over to a cleaning agency, he decided to just leave it be, keeping it as a place if he needed to get away from Alola in a hurry, despite the memories. He were still quite depressed and upset about Luna disappearing and were hoping that she would just show up again, though, something caught his mind about it. He fully remembered her, while others, who had clearly seen her and have talked or exchanged a few words with her, didn’t remember her, nor did mention anything about her. As well as for the few photos that Luna had taken on his phone of them, that previous summer, on their vacation. She had faded away from them, seemed like she had never existed. The only photo he still had of her were the background photo he had on his phone, though, everytime he looked at the photo in the album, she were not in it, but were in it while being the wallpaper.

Getting to the cleaning agency, he were told that it would take around half an hour to clean the uniform, so he were free to either walk around or sit and wait, which he decided to sit and wait, not having anything else to do. The person behind the front desk nodded and nodded over at the sitting area, gesturing for him to sit there while waiting. He got over and took a seat, digging up his phone. He kept looking at the background for a while, feeling himself getting embarrassed for looking utterly surprised in the photo, while Luna were smiling. With a sigh, he went onto some social medias, just checking them thoroughly while waiting. He had started to forget how her voice were sounding, but kept clinging to that memory as best as he could, and despite the image of her, he were slowly forgetting what she also looked like, which were why he kept the image of him and her as a wallpaper. While he were checking the social medias he were on, he got a message from Lillie, saying that she were excited to see him back in Alola soon and literally couldn’t wait. Texting back and forth for a little, the time flew by and he were called up to the front desk, being told that the uniform were clean and ready to go.

He got up, paid for their service and took it on hand, deciding to deliver it right away, and get on the plane that evening, heading back to Alola. Getting out of the place and heading towards the College grounds, he kept looking around the street, seeing people walk around with friends and their Fae’s, minding their own business. It stung in his chest while looking at the people around him, seemingly with no worries in their life, while he knew he would be going to Alola, just to start working at Aether right away. At this point, he didn’t mind anymore, finding it a good way to forget about everything and move on. Lusamine would be there and most likely micromanaging everything, which would be a pain, but something he just had to deal with. He sighed and walked through the gate to the College grounds, heading towards the main building and walking in, finding one of the people in the reception there, and handed them the uniform. Before he had to leave, he had to sign a few papers, for them to know that he had been there, been attending and delivered the uniform back.

She man behind the desk looked at the signature and gave him a warm smile. «Thank you, and good luck, Gladion.»

«Thanks...» he muttered, giving him a nod and walked off.

**\----------**

Back in the apartment, he got the few things left packed down and left, getting down to the lobby while waiting for the taxi he had called for to arrive, taking him to the airport, not wanting to be there any longer. He still didn’t want to leave, still clinging on the thought of Luna to just appear out of nowhere, already knowing that wouldn’t happen. As the taxi arrived, he got his bags into the vehicle and got himself in, telling the driver that he should get to the airport, which the driver nodded at and got going. Starting the vehicle up again, he started to go down the street for a while before turning around, heading to the airport. Gladion were looking out of the window of the car, looking at the massive buildings that were passing by, just taking in the last sight of the city, thinking that it would be the last time he would ever be around. The drive over seemed quite long, but weren’t more than 45 minutes before he got to the airport. The taxi stopped, and Gladion got out, getting his luggage, paid the driver and walked into the place, finding his way to his gate. It was quite full considering it was in the evening, but he managed to get through, dodging people to the best of his ability. As usual, he stopped to get something to eat while being on the plane. As he walked through the hallways, the feeling of being lonely kept lingering and it had been for a while, as well as resurfacing.

He let out a soft sigh, shaking his head lightly. «Not this again...» he muttered lightly. He stopped for a brief second, running his hand over his face.

He looked around a little before continuing over to his gate. While walking down, the hallway got more and more decorated, and he got rather curious, but didn’t pay too much attention to it and passed it quickly. It seemed it was some sort of celebration for something, as there were a lot of golden feathers attached to the many decorations around the place. Passing it, he got to his gate and walk over to it, getting greeted by the staff and guided down to the ground and over to the plane. He quickly took a last look around himself before boarding and getting into a seat, getting the bag stuffed away behind one of the seats and sitting down, getting the belt on. It didn’t take to long before the staff were ready and the pilots announced that they were going to get going, as well as some general info about the weather and how long the flight might take. Gladion didn’t really listen as he kept his eyes out of the window on the side, studying the wing of the plane out of boredom. When the engines started up, his vision shifted, looking at the reflection of the window instead, which gave him big eyes the more he looked at it. She were sitting right there, in the seat beside him, and he were sure that his mind didn’t play tricks on him this time. He looked over to the side, seeing the seat, which was empty, but quickly looked into the window again, still seeing her sitting there silently.

«Luna...» he muttered silently.

As he did, she looked up and over at him, giving him a sweet smile. Seeing her smile made all the feelings he had managed to bury in the last couple of months to resurface, his heart clenching by the sight. He couldn’t look away from her, but had to when one of the staff were standing beside him and offered him a bottle of water before the take off. He nodded and took it on hand, quickly looking back into the window, seeing that she had now disappeared. Swallowing thickly, controlling his breathing, doing his best not to break down all over again. He were sure that wasn’t a trick his mind were playing on him, by seeing her again. Keeping his eyes on the window until the plane took off, starting the flight over to Alola.

He hung his head a little, closing his eyes a little before looking down at his hand, clenching it. He let out a soft sigh, shaking his head. «At least you are in no pain anymore...» he muttered silently to himself, looking out again, seeing the city getting smaller and the distance growing greatly.


	60. Reached Out

Gladion were walking down the hallway at the main Aether office, his new Fae tagging along behind him. He were on his way to a meeting, and one he didn’t want to attend either, knowing the outcome already. Other companies from a few different regions were there, wanting something to say about the new ID tags that Aether had developed, that were as friendly as they could get. The previous ones had a fault that in the long term hurt the Fae, which should have been preventable, but also knowing that many Fae owners didn’t care and didn’t change them after a while, resulting in damages on the creatures. Aether had been working on a new type, giving the tags a maturity date which would dissolve after the date set on them, preventing the damages. Gladion had put Lillie on looking over that, while he, the new CEO of the company, were doing whatever else there was with meetings and papers. Lusamine were still wandering around from time to time, micromanaging everything, which were quite frustrating, as she had several times already for the past two years almost tarnished many deals that the company needed. Wicke knew, and Gladion had told her to let him know whenever she did anything of the sorts, as long as he were in charge, she didn’t and couldn’t have a say in the different matters anymore. 

Walking down the white hallway, over to the meeting room, he gestured for his Fae, a male Okami type, to wait outside. «Gin, you wait here.» he told him flatly.

«Of course, master Gladion.» he replied back, stopping and placing himself against the wall.

Gladion stopped in front of the door, fixed his tie and jacket before he let out a sigh. «I hate this...» he muttered silently and opened the door, walking in.

It’s been four years since he got back to Alola, and two of them being the CEO of the company, despite him not wanting to, Lusamine forced him into it from day one. From the start he got the reputation of being quite numb and emotionless, not taking any bullshit and calling the other companies out on it, keeping the standards high as usual. People were quite scared to approach him due to his emotionless look on his face, as well as the glares made even the staff flinch and get quite intimidated, doing their best to avoid asking him any questions. Literally avoid any contact with him at all. Despite him being quite intimidating, he were doing a good job. Lillie, Sol and Hau had been pestering him to get out more, but to no avail, Gladion keeping himself busy with a mountain of documents and most likely a bigger pile of emails every day, so they stopped talking to him about it, focusing to just keep him as happy as he could get, considering that he didn’t look very happy. Being four years since Luna disappeared, he thought he would get over it, but it was harder than he thought, the only difference were that he couldn’t fully remember her anymore, only a fraction of her personality, what she looked like and her voice. The only thing he could fully remember were her name. He still had the pendant he gave her, but kept it in his wallet, which were on him at all times. He occasionally took a look at it whenever he could take a breather for five minutes. As much as he wanted to forget about her fully, he just couldn’t let it go, no matter how much he tried.

The meeting were as dull as he predicted it to be. The older folks who were sitting around were there just to air their thoughts and concerns about trivial things within their own companies. Gladion didn’t say anything unless asked for a reply, which he gave them as politely as possible, being as bored as he could get. Luckily the meeting didn’t last for to long, and once everyone had left, Gladion were sitting behind. He placed his elbows on the table and his hands on his temples, rubbing gently while letting out a sigh. Gin, his Fae, heard and peeked inside.

«Master Gladion...I know i don’t have any right to say anything but...you should take a break sometime.» he said, sounding quite concerned.

«I can’t, since this company won’t run on it’s own.» he replied, letting out another sigh before getting up from the chair.

«Well...I’m sure that Lillie and Wicke could handle a lot more than what they get...» he started.

«Not now, Gin.» Gladion hissed and walked out of the room, passing him.

«Sorry, Master Gladion.» he apologized quickly when he passed.

«I know you are worried, but there is nothing to worry about.» Gladion replied. «I’ll be in my office for the rest of the day. You can go and do whatever you want.» he added and left for the triangle elevator.

Gin nodded and hummed softly. «Of course, thank you.»

Getting onto the elevator, pushing the button for the main office floor, the railings on each side came up and the shape moved upwards. It didn’t take too long to get to the main office floor, and as quickly the railings on the side got down, he walked off and into the direction of the office. He met Lillie on the way, who were looking quite excited and happy, when she passed him, giving him a sweet smile. He knew she had the evening off, and were planning to go out with Sol, as he had gathered the courage to ask her out for once after crushing on her for years at end. She were lightly skipping in the hallway, which he found a little irritating, and felt himself getting quite jealous. Swallowing the jealousy, he got over to the door and walked in, closing it behind him as he let out another sigh when he looked over at the desk, and the pile of documents he had to go through.

«Right...» he muttered to himself and got over to the desk, sitting down and started on the documents, looking over them and signing them if needed.

Sitting there, he slowly felt himself getting drowsy, and dropped the pen, sitting back in the chair while stretching his arms and back. Placing his elbows on the desk and holding his face up for support, he decided to just close his eyes for a second, giving them a rest before getting back to work. That second turned out to be a nap instead, as he fell asleep immediately. He started to dream, and it was the same dream he had since he got back to Alola. Everything were black, nothing could be seen around him, beside a figure a few feet in front of him. The figure were quite blurred out, but he could tell that this  _ thing _ were calling his name, and reached its hand out for him. The figure were quite small compared to him and very petite from what he could figure out from the blurred vision he got. He never reached out, predicting that it was most likely a Fable trying to enchant him one way or another, but as the dream kept coming back, always being the same, the curiosity slowly started to get him. He kept staring at it, looking at it’s supposed mouth move, calling for him. The urge to reach out grew, and he started, hesitating doing so, but quickly stopped, his arm going back to its position beside him. The fear of the unknown came over him as he stopped reaching for it, again thinking it was just another way to get him. It didn’t stop, it kept calling for him, having its hand reached out to him.

«What would happen if i do…?» he asked the figure. It tilted it’s head, shaking it lightly as a gesture as it didn’t know, but kept it’s hand reached out for him.

A sense of calmness came over him, and he reached out for its hand, not hesitating for once. Their hands touched, and it’s hand became fully visible. It was a hand of a female. Very light, very delicate, and very soft to the touch. He looked up from their hands, now knowing it’s a female, he could tell that she were smiling. Knowing that she were made his heart do an extra jump in his chest, but for once after four years, it wasn’t a painful one. She said something new, but he couldn’t hear it. Watching closely, he managed to figure out what she said.

_ Thank you. _

After she said it, she gave him another smile, tilting her head to the side again. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before looking over at her again, and smiled softly back at her in return. He noticed that her smile grew, and could make out a soft giggle coming from her. She retracted her hand back, still keeping a smile on her, only for him to desperately reach for her. Before he could reach her again, he woke up by flinching from a loud noise coming from the hallway. Looking at the door with big eyes for a few minutes, he shaked his head, looking down at the paper on the desk. For as many times he have had that same dream, he had never reached out. This time being the expectation. He looked at his palm, the feeling of her hand were still lingering strongly, the vision of her small, delicate hand were still lingering as well.

He narrowed his eyes while looking into his palm, shaking his head. «It was just a dream!» he exclaimed to himself, trying to shake the feelings that came over him.

His heart were racing in his chest, beating so loudly that he were sure that people passing in the hallway could hear it. Feeling his heart race weren’t a bad one, but rather pleasant, which confused him as he clapped his cheeks, trying to get back into work and start focusing again. Getting back to work, he somewhat managed to get through the pile of documents, but it took it’s sweet time, as his mind were somewhere else the entire time. Getting up from the chair, he looked around the office of his a little, seeing that it was quite dark, beside his desk being lighted up by the computer that were running. A quick look behind him and out the windows, seeing that it had already gotten dark outside. He quickly turned off the screen and walked away from the desk, his mind still occupied by what happened in that dream. Walking out of the office, he started walking down the hallway, over to the elevator. He took it down, ending up at the entrance area, which was still pretty lighted up from the many lights on the floor and the ceiling. He didn’t hesitate to leave for Malie, having gotten himself his own place there as he didn’t want to stay at the Aether mansion, being around his toxic mother and happy-go-lucky younger sister.

Waiting at the docks for the next ferry to get ready, he looked around at the few people that were still around and about to leave, as well as the ones starting their nightshift. Once the ferry were ready, he got on board and were on his way to Malie, which usually took a while, but it seemed shorter for once, being lost in though the entire trip over. He got onto Malie marine with a soft sigh, starting to walk through the city to his place, which were in a basement, not wanting to live fancy like his mother or sister. No one even knew where he lived, only that he had his own place in Malie, and that was about it. Getting over there, he unlocked the door and walked inside, closing and locking it behind him. He quickly got off his shoes and undid the tie and a few buttons on the shirt. He hung up the jacket, and put his phone and wallet on the table in the small living room he had before dumping himself onto the very shabby and broken couch. He didn’t care what his place looked like, and for all he could care for, it could look like a pigsty, and he still wouldn’t care. As long as he felt comfortable, it was fine. Sitting there, he got a call from someone on an unknown number. He looked at the screen for a little before taking it, hearing that it was the security guy from the complex, when he were in College those years back. He was sounding out of breath as he apologized for calling.

«It’s fine. What is it?» Gladion lightly hissed.

«Oh, yes...» he muttered and took the phone away from his ear, calling for someone to get over to him. The guy handed someone on the other side the phone.

Gladion sighed. «Gladion speaking...Who is this?»

«Gladion...?» a soft, female voice muttered in a cracked voice on the other side.


	61. Finally Reached

Gladion’s eyes grew wide from shock, his face getting unusually pale from hearing the voice on the other end of the phone. He didn’t reply as he stared at the wall right in front of him, losing the grip on his phone. The female on the other side of the phone called for his name again, which made him stand up in a hurry, and drop his phone. He stood there in silence, swallowing thickly while progressing what he had heard. His body flinched him out of it, and he looked down at the floor in a hurry and confusion, grabbing the phone again, shaking violently as he looked at the screen. Putting the phone back to his ear, his breath heavy while listening closely. There was only one name that came to mind, but he hesitated greatly for saying it, scared of being wrong and if this was a way for the media to get something out of him, he kept himself silent. He could hear the security guy on the other side ask if he were alright, to which he could hear that the female were shrugging, from the soft hum the security guy gave her. He inhaled deeply, shakingly letting it out.

«Luna…?» he muttered, being very unsure as he said the name.

«I’m sorry...» she muttered, her voice cracking even more.

«Oh my god...it is you...» he muttered, his hand going up to his forehead in shock, not knowing how to react.

There was a good amount of silence before he said stuttered out something about her just staying there, get a key to the apartment and he’ll get there as fast as possible. She hummed softly, handing the phone back to the security guy, which Gladion had a few words with the guy, telling him that she would get a key. The guy hummed softly and nodded, looking over at her from the front desk as he started to fiddle with the keys, finding the one that would open the drawer for the rest of the spare keys. He found the key, opened the drawer and found a spare, handing it to her. She took it on hand and handed the phone over to her again, nodding for her to take it. She took it, got it up to her ear, listening closely.

«Just stay there and i’ll...» he started, pausing.

«You’ll get here…?» she finished the sentence for him.

He let out a light huff. «Yeah...»

He didn’t want to hang up, but eventually did. After the call ended, he kept staring at his phone for a while, his heart fluttering at the thought that she were around again. He didn’t hesitate when calling for a flight, telling them that it was urgent and that he had to leave as fast as possible. As he got off the phone again, he hurried out of his clothes and into something casual while finding a small bg, throwing a few clothes in it and hurried out of the place, over to the main office again, getting over to the plane that should be ready to go when he got there again. He couldn’t think straight when he got back to the office, heading towards the plane in the back, getting quickly greeted by the few people that were the staff on board the flight. He got in, tucked the bag away and sat down, getting the belt on. Sitting there, his stomach started to gain butterflies, thinking that he might just be an idiot and that the girl he were hearing on the other end of the phone, were just a random person, most likely a homeless that decided to get some free shelter. Being lost in thought, he didn’t notice that the plane’s engines started and after a few seconds, got airborne. The further away he got from Alola, the more nervous he got, to the point that he started to get scared. It was very unlike him to literally drop everything and just leave, without telling anyone.

**\----------**

The flight were unusually long, and he didn’t manage to sleep either, despite him trying to do so. The butterflies kept roaming around in his abdomen, making him nervous, even more so when he saw the city appearing in the distance, the lights illuminating the buildings and the streets in the dark night. He took a deep breath, feeling like he should brace himself for a disappointment and to meet a complete stranger. The plane landed eventually and he got out, getting through the airport in a hurry and into a taxi. The taxi driver were looking quite confused, but did get going after he got the address to the complex, and getting quite intimidated by Gladion, feeling that the glare he gave him would mean trouble if he didn’t listen and do as he were told. Starting to drive off and through the city, it was rather nostalgic seeing it again after four years, thinking that he would never be there again, yet, here he was.

«I’m most likely an idiot...» he muttered silently to himself, shaking his head lightly while looking out of the window on the vehicle.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds, resting them a little before the vehicle got to the street, getting closer to the complex building. The driver told him that they were close to his destination, which made him open his eyes and nod to him. The taxi came to a stop, and Gladion paid for the ride, grabbed his bag and got out, standing outside and watched the vehicle drive off before he turned around, seeing the building. Looking inside the windows on the front door, the security guy were sleeping in his chair, snoring rather loudly. Gladion sighed and walked in as silently as possible, not waking him up and not wanting to be seen as he found his way to the elevator, pushing the button for it to arrive to the lobby area. The elevator arrived after a short while, and he walked in, pushing the button for the floor were the apartment were on. Once the doors closed in front of him, his heart skipped a beat, getting anxious as it started to move upwards. The closer he got to the floor, the faster his heart were racing, feeling like it could jump out of his throat at any second.

«Fuck...» he muttered, the nervousness getting the better of him, scratching the back of his neck.

He slightly flinched when the elevator stopped and the doors opened up, revealing the hallway to the floor of the apartment. He swallowed thickly and inhaled deeply as he walked out, slowly heading towards the apartment door, which was around the first corner of the floor. Turning the corner, he could see the door to the side in the distance, every alarm going off in his mind, telling him that it was just a fluke and that he should just turn around and run off. But the other part of him wanted to know if it actually was her, or just some random stranger that used him as bait. He just had to know, no matter what it would be. He slowed down before he stopped in front of the door, just looking down at the door handle for a few minutes, hesitating greatly before taking a firm grip around it, and finding the key, slowly putting it in the keyhole. He turned the key around, unlocking the door and took a deep breath and pushed the handle down, opening the door. Opening it up and walking in, he looked up in front of him, seeing her, standing there looking out of the window. She noticed him in the reflection and turned around, meeting his gaze. They both stood there in silence, just looking at each other for what seemed like minutes. He dropped the bag and closed the door behind him, keeping his eyes on her as he started to approach her. The closer he got her, the angrier he got, which she noticed, her posture getting smaller. He grabbed her shoulders, which made her let out a small squeak and he lightly started to shake her.

«Why didn’t you tell me anything!? You should have told me!! Do you even know what i have been through because of that!? You stupid dog!!» he snarled furiously at her.

Luna were whimpering, as his grip on her shoulders were quite tight. «Ow...Gladion...Please stop...» she muttered softly.

He kept lightly shaking and snarling at her, asking why she didn’t tell him at the time, and Luna didn’t manage to answer before he stopped and cupped her cheeks, his eyes meeting hers when she stopped keeping them closed after him shaking her. He kept staring at her, his expression slowly softend, the more he looked at her, feeling that tears were slowly starting to form in his eyes. He placed his forehead on hers, closing his eyes while trying to control his breathing. Luna placed her hands on his cheeks, feeling that he were slightly shivering.

«I’m sorry you had to see that, Gladion...» she said softly.

Gladion let go of her cheeks and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder, holding her tightly. Luna wrapped hers around him, burying her face into his shoulder, standing like that for minutes, him lightly swaying from side to side with her. He leaned back slightly, meeting her silver grey eyes for a brief second before he placed his lips onto hers, giving her a tender and passionate kiss.

**\----------**

After a few hours, when both of them had, more or less, calmed down, they were laying on the couch, being close and just clearing up some air between them. She told him the reason why she didn’t tell him at the time, which was that she didn’t want to make him worried, also telling him that she did considering telling him a few times, but never did. Gladion then told her that there were means to slow down the process of crystallization.

Luna hummed softly and sat up, looking at him. «Won’t that just mean more pain over longer period.» she said at him, which caught him off guard, as he didn’t think about it that way.

«Didn’t think about it that way...» he muttered.

She nodded slightly. «I’m just wondering on something else though...» she started, pausing as she looked around the place.

Gladion hummed and sat up. «Like what?»

«What took you so long?» she asked, tilting her head.

«What do you mean by that? I got here as quickly as i could.» he replied, scratching the back of his neck, looking at her in slight confusion.

«Not about that...» she replied, shaking her head. «What took you so long to reach out to me?» she added.

«What…?» he muttered, looking confused at her.

Luna cleared her throat. «Do i have to mention that i _was_ a Mythical at some point...» she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

«Right...» he muttered silently, facepalming. «Well ain’t i the dumb one there...» he added, figuring out that those weird dreams he have had for years, were only a way for her to reach him, only for him not to. «Sorry about that...»

Luna smiled softly and leaned in closer to him. «It’s fine. I didn’t expect you to know anything, but i definitely didn’t know it would take you that long. Did you really try that hard to forget me?»

«No. Quite the contrary actually...» he replied. «It was rather easy to forget, as it seemed that everyone else did.»

«How come you didn’t?» she asked.

«Well...In fact...I did.» he muttered, looking down at his lap. «Rather strange how easy it was, which is probably why i kept clinging to _it_.» he added, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

«Clinging to what?» she asked.

Gladion got up from the couch and walked over to his jacket, that he had hung up a little earlier. He found his wallet and got out the necklace he kept having on him. He took it out, and put the wallet of his back into the pocket before walking over to her again, sitting down. He took her hand and opened up her palm, putting the necklace down in it. «This.» he flatly replied.

She looked at it with wide eyes. «You actually kept it?» she asked, looking up at him.

«Yeah...Didn’t really know what to do with it...» he muttered, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Luna giggled softly and handed it over to him again, which made his heart drop a little. «Help me put it on again.~» she said, which made him feel relieved.

«Sure.» he muttered softly.

She turned around and moved her hair away. Gladion fiddled a little with the lock on the thing before opening it up and reached around her, putting it on her. Once it was on, she turned around to face him again, giving him a sweet smile. Seeing her sweet smile, he reached for her chin and lifted her up towards him, locking their lips gently. Sharing a few soft kisses, they decided to get some sleep, mostly because he haven’t been sleeping for a while, and could drop at any second.


	62. Love you too

Waking up the next morning, Gladion looked up at the ceiling as he rubbed the tiredness off his face. Letting out a soft sigh, he sat up, stretching his back a little before looking around the room, getting confused. Looking to his side, he saw Luna, having her back at him and still sleeping, which made him look at her with big eyes for a few seconds before remembering what actually happened the day before. He kept looking at her for a while before laying down again, scooting close to her and wrapped his arm around her, nuzzling into her neck. She woke up by it, but didn’t move much, just settling in under his arm, letting out a content sigh.

«Good morning.~» she muttered in a husky voice.  
  
«Good morning.~» he murmured back. «Did i wake you up?» he asked, giving her a light peck on her shoulder.

«Yeah, but it’s fine.» she muttered softly.

«Sorry about that.» he replied softly, placing another soft peck on her shoulder.

She hummed softly and turned around, facing him and gave him a sweet smile. She snuggled up closer to him, closing her eyes. Gladion kept looking at her, getting butterflies in his stomach as he gently placed his hand on her cheek, rubbing with his thumb softly over her skin and her lips, which made her smile softly. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, having a soft smile on her lips. Meeting her grey eyes, he couldn’t look away, finding himself getting lost in her soft, yet intense stare, drawing him in like nothing. He leaned in and locked their lips, brushing their lips softly at each other. Gladion gradually started to turn over, leaning over her as the soft kisses got more intense, his hand getting placed on her hip, slowly starting to go down her thigh, lifting her leg up over his hip. Their breaths were getting heavier, her arms getting wrapped around him to keep him close. As the kissed got heavier, their tongues dancing around each other, his phone on the nightstand started to vibrate and giving off a lot of noise. They broke the makeout session and looked over at his phone, Luna giggling softly, while Gladion were silently growling. It eventually stopped and got silent again, both of them staring at it for a few seconds before looking at each other.

Gladion smirked. «Now...Where was i?» he murmured.

Luna smiled sheepishly and got a faint blush on her cheeks. He leaned in, about to lock their lips again before his phone started over again, making take a detour and faceplant into the pillow, growling rather loudly. Luna snorted and let out a small giggle, trying to hold the laughter in as she heard him. He rolled off her and sat up on the edge, taking a look at the screen. He sighed rather loudly, hanging his head a little, growling to himself.

«Just take it.» she said to him, sitting up and stretching her arms out in front of her.

«Sorry...» he muttered and got up from the bed, walking out of the bedroom, followed by a soft sigh.

«It’s fine. Really. Might be something important you know.» she said, tilting her head a little as she looked over at him.

«What’s more important that you?» he asked in a husky voice.

Luna blushed into a deep red and looked at him with big eyes as he got up from the bed, walking out of the bedroom. He closed the door behind him and quickly took the call, which was from Lillie, and he knew he had some explanation to do, since he left without telling anyone. «Yeah…?» he muttered when taking it, keeping the phone a few inches away from his ear.

«BROTHER!! WHERE ARE YOU!?»

He flinched, pulling the phone even more away from him until she stopped yelling. Once she stopped, or at least, calmed down, he took it closer to him, putting the phone back to his ear and told her where he was, and that he just needed to get away, not bringing up that Luna were the main reason for him to drop everything and just leave. Lillie were sounding quite irritated and frustrated, not really listening to him while we were trying to give her a reason, the reason being that he needed a break after four years of working non stop, only to become the CEO of the company two years in.

«But you should have been here! There is a shit ton of meetings today and A LOT of important people coming. Mother is furious as well...» she said, muttering the latter.

«Give me Wicke on the phone...» he asked.

Lillie growled, but said that she would try and find her. «I’ll see if i can find her...»

Lillie walked around and eventually found her, looking as happy and calm as usual. Lillie told her that Gladion were on the phone and asked for her, which surprised her, but gladly took it. «Yes, Master Gladion?»

«Wicke...» he started, pausing while letting out a loud sigh. «Postpone whatever of meetings for the time being.»

«Of course. I suppose you’ll be away for a while?» she asked, her voice as calm and soft as usual.

«Most likely...» he muttered, and looked behind of him, hearing the door open up, seeing Luna walk out in his t-shirt. Luna walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a sweet smile.

«Of course. Take your time, Master Gladion. Me and Lillie will make sure that Aether is running until you are back. Have a nice vacation.~» she said gently.

«Thanks, Wicke.» he replied, hearing that Wicke gave the phone back to Lillie, who were quite stunned at what she said.

Lillie put her phone back up to her ear, still keeping her eyes on Wicke as she started to walk off and going through the schedule of his, cleaning it up and emailing whoever she needed. «You are taking vacation…? Why? You can’t just...leave like that?»

«Actually...I can.» he said. He paused a little. «Well...Not completely like that, but close. I just need some time off.»

«Brother...What the hell!?» she groaned.

«Look...I haven’t had a day off in years, been working overtime to make ends meet... since mother didn’t do that for some reason.» he said, muttering the latter. «And i just need time away...right now before i break down.» he added.

«Brother...» she muttered, sounding upset. «Just...Don’t do anything stupid!»

«What’s that supposed to mean?» he hissed. Luna kept her arms wrapped around his waist, putting her head on his chest. He wrapped his free arm around her, giving her a light, silent peck on top of her head as he started to sway gently.

«I didn’t mean it like that...Just be safe. Ok?» she rephrased it.

«I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time i have been in this region.» he replied.

Lillie had a few more words with him before she hung up, still sounding quite frustrated that he had just left, but she understood why. Their mother had thrown him into work right away, and he didn’t have a say in it. As well as forcing him into the CEO position, which he took, but clearly didn’t look happy about it for the next years, considering that he got quite the bad reputation on him for being one of the youngest, and scariest CEOs in the world. Luna heard that Lillie mentioned it a few times in an attempt to change his mind to get back to Alola right away, which didn’t work. Gladion eventually said his goodbye and hung up, turning his focus back on Luna again, looking down at her and got his other arm around her. He let out a soft sigh and nuzzled into her head, being quite comfortable standing there with her. Standing there for a few minutes, they let go of each other, and Luna got into the bathroom, while Gladion kept standing there, watching her walk in and close the door behind her.

**\----------**

After getting ready and eaten some breakfast, they decided to look around the city, see if anything had changed in the past four years. They got themselves ready, and while taking the elevator down to the lobby area, Luna put her hair up in a ponytail, keeping it somewhat out of the way for a while. They got out of the building and started to wander around the street. The city had slightly changed, as the College he were attending a few years back were gone and replaced with apartment buildings, as well the buildings were looking rather strange and out of place from the rest of the surrounding complexes.

«College shut down and replaced with apartments...Never saw that coming.» he muttered, looking at the buildings in surprise.

«You think something happened? Considering that it changed rather quickly...» she asked him, looking over.

«Who knows? Might be something about it somewhere.» he replied, shrugging. Luna nodded slightly, humming softly as a reply.

Luna linked her arm with him as they kept walking down the street. Gladion kept checking his phone, as Lillie kept sending him messages about questions, despite having told her that he’s off for a while. She came to remember what he said earlier that morning, which made her blush into a deep red again, making her start to act timidly while walking around, trying to hide that she were blushing and feeling rather flattered and happy about it. Gladion noticed and looked down at her, seeing the timidness showing quite well.

«What?» he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

She slightly flinched and looked up at him, meeting his green eyes. Her blush became a deeper red as she just shook her head. «Nothing.~» she cheerfully replied, giving him a sheepish smile.

«You sure about that? That blush of yours does tell a different story.» he replied, his expression slowly getting smug as he looked down at her.

She sighed softly and hung her head a little. «Umm...Did you mean what you said earlier this morning?» she asked, her voice unusually soft.

He didn’t recall what he had said, as it was early at the time and he just blurted something out in the spur of the moment. «What did i say to get you like this?» he asked, trying to get her to say it, or something about it.

«Am i really that important to you…?» she asked. «I did lie to you for a while...and didn’t tell you about what was happening to me...» she added. He looked at her with big eyes, still not remembering what he had said to her in those early morning hours. Going from what she asked, he became beet red.

_ What the hell did i say or ask her in the morning!? _

«Wouldn’t have dropped everything if you weren’t...» he replied, trying to play it cool despite his mind rioting loudly.

Luna stopped, looking down at the ground, her bangs making it hard to read her expression. She still had her arm linked with his, and when she stopped, he had to stop as well. Seeing her look down, he started to get worried if what he said were something she didn’t want to hear. He leaned over a little, trying to catch her expression if possible, only for her to look up, smiling widely at him. He sighed silently, getting relieved that she wasn’t upset or mad after his reply. She tightened the grip around his arm and they started walking again, ending with taking a look at the other streets and the shopping district, which had grown bigger and more elaborate after the years. Luna kept apologizing that she disappeared like that, and that he had to see it, which made him slowly grow irritated.

He sighed and stopped, shaking his head a little. «Luna...Look...» he started, clearing his throat. «You are back and that’s all that matters to me now. Just don’t die on me like that again, or i’ll kill you.» he added, hissing the latter at her.

«You won’t be able to kill me if i die like that again...» she replied, looking at him with a blank stare.

«You get my point.» he lightly hissed. Luna just nodded slightly at him. He took a quick look around the surroundings, making sure there wasn’t anyone around when he took a grip around her waist and pulled her close, lifting up her chin, making her meet his emerald green eyes. She were looking rather surprised at him, waiting for something, but not sure what that would be. «I love you too.» he silently, but softly told her.

Luna’s eyes grew bigger, feeling her heart clench tightly in her chest and tears starting to form in her eyes. He gave her a soft peck, wrapping his arms around her and pulled her more towards him, holding around her tightly. Luna got her arms around him, burying her face in his chest, tears streaming down her face. She wasn’t upset, and she didn’t know why she were crying and couldn’t stop, but had a soft smile across her lips. After a while, she leaned back, having her hands over her face, wiping the tears from her eyes, muttering that she were sorry and that it was quite the embarrassment. He removed her hands from her face, gently cupping her cheeks as he wiped her eyes with his thumbs, telling her that it’s fine, just not a reaction he expected, giving her a sheepish smile.

She gave him a sheepish smile back. «Sorry...»

«It’s fine.» he replied softly. He took her hand in his and they started to walk around a little more. After been around most of the common streets, they got something to eat, some groceries and headed back to the apartment.


	63. Uninvited Fae

Being in the apartment, just snuggling up to each other and watching some shitty TV shows, letting the evening pass quickly before heading to bed. Luna had a quick shower and got into one of his t-shirts and walked into the bedroom, seeing Gladion sit on the edge of the bed, looking down at his phone. She got over to the other side of the bed and got under the duvet, sitting up a little while she ran her fingers through her hair. Gladion put the phone away after being done going through some messages from Lillie, her just asking whatever and generally sounding distressed and not knowing what she would be doing. He let out a soft sigh, running his hand through his bangs and over his head.

«Everything alright?» she asked.

Gladion looked over his shoulder, and nodded. «Yeah. Just Lillie that don’t know what to do when i’m not around...» he said, followed by a light groan.

«Just a learning curve i guess...No offence to your sister though.» she said, smiling sheepishly.

«None taken.» he muttered and got under the duvet as well, laying down.

Luna scooted closer and straddled him. «I’m sure she will be fine. If i recall correctly...Wicke is still around, no?»

He hummed softly, placing his hands on her thighs, gently rubbing. «Wicke is not leaving anytime soon, so yes, she’s still around.» he replied.

«Since she’s around, Lillie will be fine.~» Luna said softly, giving him a sweet smile.

Gladion slightly nodded. «She’ll be fine either way.» he replied, giving her a light squeeze on her thighs.

She giggled softly. «And there you go. Nothing to worry about.~» she murmured. Luna eventually got off him and laid down beside him, letting out a content sigh as he turned towards her, wrapping his arm around her and pulled her close. They got comfortable, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

After being asleep for awhile, Luna woke up feeling thirsty all of a sudden. She took a quick look at her side, seeing Gladion being sound asleep and smiled softly. She sat up in the bed, stretched her back a little before she got up, silently walking out of the room and over to the kitchen area, finding herself a glass and taps some water in it. She looked around the place, feeling nostalgic that she were back at this place. It was the same, beside that the place were covered in dust, and that she wasn’t a Fable anymore. She filled up the glass and took a sip of it, turning the water off as she kept standing there, looking around more. She finished the water, putting the glass down into the sink and walked back to the bedroom, stretching herself while walking. She walked into the bedroom and closed the door as silently as possible, and got over to the bed, getting in and under the duvet. As she laid down again and got comfortable, Gladion woke up by the weight shifting slightly to his side, looking over at her as she moved to get comfortable. She let out a soft, content sigh as he moved closer, wrapping his arm around her, giving her a few light kisses on her neck and trailing them down to her shoulder. Luna turned slightly over to her back, looking up at him, meeting his eyes for a brief second as he leaned in, placing his lips onto hers softly. He slipped his arm under her and pulled her with him, putting her on top of him. She didn’t hesitate to straddle him, keeping their lips locked. Gladion moved his hands down to her hips, sliding them under the t-shirt, slowly feeling her up her sides and back, taking in the soft curves of hers, feeling her soft skin under his palm. Their lips parted, and with a swift, hurried movement, Gladion dragged the shirt off her, throwing it to the side before crashing their lips onto each other again.

Keeping their lips locked, Luna were lightly moving her hips on him, grinding slowly. Gladion moved his hands down to her rear, groping roughly, making her let out a light gasp, ‘helping’ her on the matter. Feeling his member grow under him, he slipped his hands under her underwear, giving her a firm, rough squeeze. She moved her hand down from his torso to his lower abdomen, tugging on his boxers a little. Their lips parted, and she moved his boxers down, revealing his length. She got out of her underwear, quickly tossing it to side as she before she got over him again, guiding him into her. Both of them not wanting to waste more time than they needed, or wanted to. Feeling her folds wrap around his length tightly, making him let out a light huff, as well as Luna biting her lower lip, trying to muffle the light, soft gasp that escaped her,  starting to grind her hips on him again, setting herself a slow and steady pace. He reached up to her, pulling her down to lock their lips again before he lightly ran his hand down her neck and collarbone, down to her chest, cupping her breast gently. A light shiver came down her spine, giving her goosebumps, letting a soft moan escape her lips. Gladion let go of her breast and rear, placing his hands on her hips as he started to lightly buck his hips up towards her, breaking the makeout. Luna were tightly clenching the pillows beside him, soft moans coming from her as Gladion were softly running his lips on her neck, lightly nibbling on her skin, hearing her heavy breath and soft moans with each thrust he did.

He kept bucking his hips up at her for a few minutes before he got his arms around her, and rolled over, taking his boxers more off before taking her hands in his and pulls them up above her head, continuing to thrust into her, keeping a steady pace. Their eyes met for a brief second as he leaned down, locking their lips, their tongues roughly wrestling with each other. He broke it quickly again as he let go of one of her hands, he placed it on her hip, speeding up the pace. Luna moved her free hand up behind his neck, keeping him close as their foreheads were touching. They opened their eyes, meeting each others gazes. The look in her eyes were quite soft and gently, which made him slow the pace down unconsciously. He let go of her other hand, putting it beside her for support, while she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he planted his lips on her neck, lightly gracing his teeth and nibble on her skin. Luna let out a light gasp-like moan, lightly scratching up his back. He kept the pace slow, dragging it out as her inner walls started to spasm lightly around his member, her moans slowly getting louder and more frequent, making him get the shivers down his back, her moans being sweet music to his ears. Gladion could feel himself getting close, and her inner walls, combined with her soft moans, certainly didn’t make it any easier to keep himself focused as his mind started to get blank. Picking the speed up for a few more minutes, she suddenly dug her nails into his back, arching her back, pressing herself up towards him, closing her eyes tightly, her moan cracking as she reached the end of her run, tensing up from the euphoria going through her body . Gladion kept thrusting into her for a few more seconds before he came to the end of his run, his body tensing up, closing his eyes tightly and his breath cracking, lightly gasping as the intense feeling of ecstasy came over him. Letting his weight down onto her, she kept her arms around him, but loosened her grip, both trying to catch their breath a little as their foreheads were touching. Gladion slipped his arms under her, gently rubbing his thumbs over her skin as he opened his eyes, looking at her as she opened hers, meeting her soft, grey eyes. She gave him a soft smile, moving her hands to his cheeks, cupping him gently. He smiled softly back at her, leaning in and gave her a soft, tender kiss. Luna returned the kiss quickly, ending up sharing a few before getting comfortable again, drifting off to sleep or the rest of the remaining night.

**\----------**

Gin, Gladion’s new Fae had just arrived in the region and were on his way over to the complex. He had done his research after Gladion just dropped everything and left Alola in a hurry, and were feeling quite irritated that he didn’t tell him anything, and wanted to get a clear answer from his master himself, not asking Lillie, nor Wicke, since they would most likely just give him the reply Gladion gave them, which, at times, were a lie.

«I’m surprised those two actually believes whatever he says...of course, he’s president of the company, but still...» he grumbled to himself, finding his way through the streets.

After walking for a while, he got to the right street eventually and started to head down, seeing the massive building in the distance, or at least what he thought were the building. Lightly stomping his way down the street, he stopped by the complex. Before walking into the lobby, he made sure that it was the right building, looking at the different numbers outside of it. When he was sure, he walked in and were greeted by a security guy behind the front desk, asking where he were going. Gin told him that he were going back to his master, who were in this building somewhere.

«Ah, i see. Who’s you master?» he asked.

«Aether...Gladion.» he muttered, slightly hissing it because of the irritation he felt from not being told anything.

«Ah, that young man in your master.» he said and nodded. He found a key and handed it over to him, telling him what floor the apartment was on.

Gin nodded. «Thank you for your help.» he said and bowed to him, walking over to the elevator.

Waiting for it to arrive in the lobby, he slowly grew irritated, scripting what he would be saying to Gladion when he saw him, if he even were in the apartment. He crossed his arms, tapping his foot while waiting for the elevator to arrive, and when it did, he got into it, pushed the button for the floor he were told the apartment were on, and started to move upwards. He crossed his arms and started tapping his foot again, the irritation growing rapidly. The elevator music didn’t help lifting the mood either while standing there, keeping his eyes on the door and the numbers on the display as it kept moving. After a few minutes, the elevator stopped and the doors opened up. Gin walked out and looked at the sign on the wall, telling which apartment number were in which direction, and followed that down the hallway, finding the right one after a few seconds. He stood there for a while, knocking on the door, but didn’t get any response, nor did he hear anything happening on the other side of the door. He got up the key and unlocked the door, walking in. As he got in and closed the door behind him, he found the place strangely ordinary for Gladion, knowing that his family were very much into quite the modern and sleek style. He stood there, looking a little dumbfounded around at the place, but as he were looking around, he noticed a couple of female shoes standing around. He narrowed his eyes and silently started to walk around, checking out the place before finding his way to the bedroom door. It was still early in the morning, so he silently opened the door, peeking inside. Looking around cautiously, he saw the back of Gladion, still sleeping peacefully. Letting out a soft sigh, he walked over, thinking of waking him up and ask him why he left so quickly.

«Master Gladion, why was you….» he started, slowly stopping when he saw Luna laying beside him. «What the fuck?» he exclaimed in surprise, a bit to loud than he intended to.

They both woke up from it. Luna were using his arm as a pillow as she yawned, blinking a couple of times. Gladion shot his eyes up, and looked over his shoulder, seeing Gin standing there, looking quite confused, but once their eyes met, Gin started to panic. «What the fuck indeed?» he hissed at the Fae.

«Master Gladion...» he muttered, and slightly pointed at Luna who pulled the duvet more over her as Gladion sat up in the bed, not looking happy from getting woken up. «...Who is that woman?»

«Gin...» he hissed, rubbing his face with his hand in an attempt to wake up. Luna sat up as well, holding the duvet in front of her, covering her front as she looked over at the male Fae that were standing beside the bed, looking very confused.

«You left in a hurry for just... _ that _ ?» Gin asked, a faint blush on his cheeks. «To sleep with a hoe??»

«Gin...» he hissed again, his voice starting to get louder. Luna scoffed and got quite insulted by his remark. Gladion heard her scoff and looked over at her, seeing a quite hurt and insulted expression on her face.

«Master Gladion? What’s the meaning of this?!» he kept on going.

«Gin!» he snarled at him. Gin stopped and just kept looking at him with big, confused eyes. «Get out.» he hissed and pointed at the door.

«But...Master Gladion…?» he muttered.

«Get. Out.» he repeated himself, snarling it.

Gin whimpered and nodded slightly, backing out of the room and closing the door. He found his way out to the living room slowly, not sure how to react, as he had never seen Gladion looking that furious before. One the Fae were out, Gladion turned his attention to Luna, who were looking at him with a light pout on her face. Gladion told her that it was his new Fae, that he got 2 years after she disappeared on him.

«Don’t care.» she said and held her hand out, her palm up. «Pay up, honey. I’m apparently a hoe.» 

Gladion scoffed. «Don’t take it to heart what he said...» he muttered, and got out of the bed, finding his boxers and put them on in a hurry, as well as some sweatpants. Luna were still sitting there, keeping the duvet up in front of her. He looked over at her. «...And you are not a hoe.» he added and walked out.

Luna groaned and fell back down onto the bed when he closed the door to the bedroom, walking out to confront Gin and find out why he were there. «And i was so comfortable...» she muttered, pouting.

Gladion got out and found Gin standing in the middle of the living room, looking uncomfortable. Gladion sighed and passed him, walking over to the kitchen to find himself a glass and pour some water into it. Gin looked over at him, his ears laying flat on his head from being uncomfortable. He saw quite a few scratches on his back, and pointed them out to him. Gladion dismissed it, but got quite red from it, recalling what happened the previous night.

«Master Gladion...» he muttered, looking over his shoulder, in the direction of the bedroom. «Who is she?»

Gladion turned around, leaning against the counter as he took a sip of the water. «That’s Luna, and she is my girlfriend.» he flatly replied to him. «And..How did you get here? And even find this place?»

«I overheard Miss Lillie and Miss Wicke...» he muttered timidly.

«Of course...» Gladion sighed, shaking his head.

Gin told him what he heard and decided to get around, as he was his Fae after all, it was just common logic that he should be by his side at all times, whether he liked it or not. Gladion said that he didn’t mind him being around, but walking in like that were quite uncalled for, as well as calling Luna for a hoe didn’t sit well with him either. Gin apologized, and Gladion told him to watch his tongue in the future, as it could get dangerous if he didn’t. Gladion were secretly happy that Luna weren’t a Fable at this point, as she would have sent him flying out of the apartment quicker than Gin would have been able to react. Luna came walking out after a while, fully dressed and putting her hair up in a ponytail, still not looking happy when she saw Gin standing there. The Fae noticed and felt bad, immediately apologizing to her as she passed him. She just hummed, not sounding impressed. Gin kept on apologizing, being persistent and wanting the acknowledgement that she accepted the apology of his. Gladion noticed that she were getting more and more irritated the more Gin kept being persistent, to the point that she looked over her shoulder at him, giving him a glare.

«Shut up and sit down, or you won’t get anything to eat.» she hissed at him.

Gin stopped and looked over at Gladion, who just nodded slightly. Gin got over to the dining table and sat down, staying quiet and observing how his master were acting around this female he didn’t have any knowledge about. The change were massive. Gladion were looking more relaxed and ‘more human’ than what he were used to see from him, being used to the stern and seriousness Gladion kept putting up for everyone. It seemed that this female, Luna, broke down whatever wall he had build up around him throughout the years like nothing. Gin even noticed that Gladion had more expressions than his usual frown or scowl, which was quite refreshing to see.


	64. Wild Future Ahead

After Gin arrived, they didn’t stay around for long in the region. Gladion didn’t mind going back to Alola either, knowing that Luna would be tagging along, making it easier to deal with everything when she were around to keep him company. They had gotten onto the plane, and got into their seats, getting the belt on. Gin were sitting opposite of Gladion, while Luna were sitting beside him, everyone minding their own business. Knowing that they were going back to Alola again, it made Gladion nervous, as he had to introduce Luna all over again, and try and find up something that would sound plausible and most likely a new reason as of why he left in a hurry two weeks ago. While sitting there, waiting for the plane to get ready and take off to Alola, Gin were keeping an eye on Luna, and could feel himself gaining a puppy crush on her. Gladion noticed that he were looking over at her, quite often and cleared his throat, getting his attention. Gin looked over at Gladion, meeting his serious expression, exchanging looks between her and him, which made the Fae blush and sink down into the chair, crossing his arms. Luna saw and snorted, followed by a soft giggle.

«Can’t have you around if you start crushing on my girl.» Gladion lightly hissed.

«I’m not, Master Gladion...I’m not...» he muttered, his ears laying back down on his head. Luna kept on giggling softly.

The pilots shortly announced that they were ready and would start the trip over to Alola. The staff got themselves seated, and the engines started up, the pilots starting to move the plane out to the runaway, waiting for a signal that they could take off. Gladion got his phone and laptop up, telling them that he would just reply to a few messages and emails. Luna nodded and hummed softly, keeping her attention outside of the window beside her. Gin were looking outside as well, but his attention were on Luna and Gladion, starting to wonder how they met, and where. He found it strange that his master had changed so much in the short period of time. It was refreshing, but strange, making him wonder what they had been through and how they got to know each other for being that close. Not even Lillie could make him feel at ease that easily. The plane eventually got out on the runaway and got airborne, starting the flight over to Alola. After a few hours, Gladion put the laptop and phone away, looking around himself and saw that Luna and Gin had both fallen asleep. He knew Luna were sleeping, as she were using his shoulder as a pillow. Resting his head on top of hers, he kept his attention outside, seeing the dark clouds surrounding them, and the rain that were heavily falling down outside, indicating that there were a storm brewing. Listening to the rain hitting the window, he closed his eyes, and slowly drifted off to sleep, keeping his head on top of hers.

The flight were quite regular, nothing happening and the food quite horrid. Gladion forgot to get himself something to eat before the flight and had to do with the food he got served. He didn’t eat everything he got, but a few things he knew he could stomach. As usual, they had a stop in a region before continuing over, and when that happened, Gladion took the opportunity to get out of the plane and find himself a store, get himself something proper to eat and drink. Luna tagged along, just to have something to do while the staff got a break, and the plane got refueled and ready again. She tried her best to mask the grin on her face when she were wandering around with him, finding a store just to get something else to eat.

«You know i hate it...and get sick from it.» he hissed to her.

«I’m well aware, but it’s still funny.» she replied, giggling. He growled to himself as they found a store, and he got himself something else to eat.

Getting back to the plane and inside, they sat down. Gin were already sitting there, looking very tired and ready to get back to sleep once they were in the air again. The two sat down and got comfortable, getting the belts on as they started to wait again. Gladion started to eat what he got, which was a simple sandwich with ham and cheese. While he kept on eating, the staff came back and the pilots got into the cockpit and started to get ready, going through the procedures before getting a clear signal from the tower to get going. The pilots got their signal, and headed out to the runaway again, getting airborne shortly after. They landed in Alola after several hours, and the landing were slightly rough, as there was a lot of heavy rain, and the wind were quite strong, but they eventually got down to the ground. The rough turbulence made Luna quite uneasy, but she masked it quite well, but couldn’t help letting out a relieved sigh when she got out of the plane. Gladion saw her relieved expression when she sighed and couldn’t help himself just to chuckle at her. Landing at the Aether office, Gin said his goodnight and left, sleeping in a makeshift bedroom there at the office. Gladion didn’t say anything about it, since it was his wish when he arrived Aether years back, starting to be his new Fae around the region.

**\----------**

A few months had passed since Luna came back into Gladion’s life, making it less ‘miserable’ as he put it. Luna rolled her eyes at it whenever he brought it up, but there was a noticeable difference. Employees found him more approachable, but were still very much intimidated by him. At meetings, he kept his business persona, but knowing that he would get home to someone he loved made quite the difference on his expression. Luna had been around the office from time to time, making sure that he didn’t overwork himself, knowing he could do that and it would affect his mood  _ a lot _ . Despite no one remembering her, Lillie were as sweet as usual, introducing her to Sol and Hau, as well as several others she occasionally hung out with whenever she could. She was also overly excited that her brother had a girlfriend, and couldn’t stop talking about it. While Luna were hanging with Lillie, Gladion took the time to do some research on his own, researching the  _ Wild Card _ , trying to connect the missing threads and links between Fae’s, Fable’s and humans. As well as why some Fae’s and Fable’s had that specific ability, if it even was one. Having Luna around did help a little with it, giving her thoughts on it, as well as her own bizarre experience, as well as taking into the consideration that she were a human born Fable. Searching online and in old books, he thought he managed to get something out of it, that were at least sounding more correct than what Colleges and Universities were teaching already.

_ A Wild Card seems to be a Fae or a Fable being born with an extremely rare ability, which would make it possible for them to turn human. A Fable being human born would be most likely to have it, but they wouldn’t know about it until their lifespan ended. The most common way for a Fae and Fable to pass is by crystallizing, apparently starting with their spine, then their tail, if they have one. The process of their spine getting crystalized would be quite painful, going in intervals of when it would happen and could happen at random. When their spine is fully crystallized, it might take some time before their tail starts, which is less to not painful at all. That process can take a while as well, depending on how much the Fae or Fable use their magic while it’s happening. When their tail is crystalized, the Fae or Fable will go into a great pain again, and within a few seconds, their entire being being crystalized, ending up shattering and turning into dust. _

Gladion were quite concentrated while writing and doing his research about it whenever he weren’t at the office, doing it on his spare time, finding it quite interesting. Recently getting a new place on the request of Luna as well, he had his own home office, which he did spend a lot of time in without noticing the extent of it. Luckily Luna were around to drag him out of the place, occasionally taking the key and locking the room up if she wanted his full attention, no matter what. This day went as usual. Gladion doing some of his personal research on the  _ Wild Card _ matter, only for Luna to get over and tell him that he’s been sitting there for hours at end. He were sitting there, fully concentrated on the laptop screen, to the point that he didn’t notice Luna walk in and approached him from behind. She draped her arms around him, which made him lightly flinch.

«You have been sitting here all day...» she whined. «Can’t you stop for today and come down with me?»

«Can’t i just finish this first?» he asked, looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

«No. I need your assistance right now.» she muttered.

«Needy vixen.» he replied, typing in a few more words into the document.

Luna just got a smug smirk on her lips. «I know you like it.~» she murmured, whispering it seductively into his ear, followed by a soft kiss on his cheek.

Gladion got a faint blush on his cheeks. «Mhmm...» he just hummed softly.

«I. Know. All. Your. Buttons.~» she murmured, undoing the two top buttons on his shirt, letting her finger trace its way up from his collarbone to his neck and jawline.

As much of an annoyance it could be, he didn’t hate it. Much more, finding it enjoyable, letting her think she’s toying with him. As she kept tracing his jawline, he slowly turned his head towards her. «Now you’ve done it.» he murmured.

She looked at him as her eyes slightly grew bigger. «Huh…?»

Gladion closed the laptop, and a smirk slowly forming on his lips, narrowing his eyes at her. Her arms were still around him, so he took a firm grip of them as he got up, giving her somewhat of a piggyback ride as he stood up, her feet not touching the floor. She let out a soft yelp and Gladion were chuckling softly. She didn’t fight it, just hanging on his back as he carried her with him out of the office.

She let out a soft sigh. «But...the dinner will get cold...» she muttered.

«It can be reheated...for now...I need an appetizer.» he murmured and kept carrying her over to the end of the hallway at their place, starting to walk towards the bedroom.

He stopped when he heard Lillie’s voice coming from the first floor. Luna then told him that they had guests. Gladion sighed and let go of her. «Sorry...» she muttered as she got down on her feet.

«It’s fine...You did tell me they were coming over.» she muttered.

«I did...» she replied, seeing that he were looking quite disappointed. She walked around to his front and poked his nose. «You know...There is no appetizer, but there might be some dessert later.~» she added, giving him a playful wink.

She then walked off, heading down the stairs and met up with Lillie, as well as Sol and Hau, who she had also invited over. Gladion watched her walk off, his eyes getting fixated on her hips as she disappeared down the stairs. «I might be able to wait for that...» he murmured to himself, getting into the bedroom to get changed.

Gladion got down a few minutes later in something casual and sat down in the empty seat beside Luna. Sol muttered that it was a pleasure that he decided to join, to which Gladion hissed back at him to keep it shut. Luna and Lillie just rolled their eyes, shaking their heads, while Hau chuckled, him and Sol doing a brofist. They started to eat while chatting casually, Lillie giving Gladion a few smug looks from time to time, her way to tell him that he should just put a ring on her, since she liked her. Gladion silently scoffed, trying his best to ignore it, but couldn’t fight the growing blush on his cheeks. Lillie even asked when she would be an aunt, which made Gladion choke on the drink he took a sip off. Luna looked at the blonde girl in horror, but quickly turned her attention to Gladion, patting his back.

«We just moved in here...» Luna muttered, her cheeks as red as they could get.

«Pfft...Never too late to start.» she said and looked over at Gladion. «You ain’t getting any younger either!» she added, pointing at him.

He cleared his throat and pointed back at her. «None...of your business...» he muttered, lightly coughing still.

Sol were looking horrified at Lillie, as they were dating and they have been into the subject a couple of times, but didn’t know that she actually were seriously thinking about it, but masked it by asking her brother instead when she gave him a side glance. Hau tried his best to not laugh, finding the situation to funny. Luna knew she wasn’t ready to have kids, but if she ended up pregnant, then so be it. The dinner went off rather calmly the rest of the evening. Hau ending up leaving early since his grandfather called, needing his assistance on something, followed a few hours later with Sol and Lillie leaving, Sol looking terrified at Lillie as they left. Gladion could tell that they were talking about family things, since Lillie wanted one of her own, but Sol were clearly not ready for that responsibility. As they were out of the sight, Gladion closed and locked the door, wandering into the kitchen, where Luna had started to clean the dishes a little, putting them into the dishwasher later, looking rather stressed from what Lillie trying to drag out of the two. As he walked in, she looked up and pointed at him firmly.

«I’m not ready for pups…!» she exclaimed, looking somewhat distressed.

Gladion put his hands up in defeat. «I wasn’t even going to bring that up...»

«Good...» she muttered, looking down at the dishes again, letting out a sigh.

He helped her with the dished and they ended up relaxing in the living room for the rest of the evening, snuggling up in front of the TV, just watching some random show. Gladion occasionally looked down at her, as Lillie had no planted a few things into his mind, things he never really thought about and most likely would never have thought about about. Seeing how stressed she was about it earlier, he didn’t dare to bring it up and decided to wait until she would bring it up, leaving it be at that. At least he already knew that Luna would be around for a long time.  _ A very long time. _


End file.
